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PHS' Collett tops all female competitors in 2-mile

August 20, 2016
By Steve Hemmelgarn - Sports writer (shemmelgarn@newsandsentinel.com) , News and Sentinel Half Marathon

PARKERSBURG - Two tries, two wins.

That was the story of Parkersburg High School sophomore Olivia Collett, age 14, Saturday morning as she won a second straight Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon women's two-mile race.

In the process, Collett knocked 9.5 seconds off her winning clocking from last year, which was her first-ever time in a two-mile event.

Article Photos

Photo by Jeff Baughan
Parkersburg student Olivia Collett crosses the finish line Saturday to win the Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon 2-Mile girls’ race.

Collett covered the two-mile course Saturday in a time of 12:06.2; last year, she was clocked at 12:15.7. This year, Collett came in at 20th overall in the two-mile event; last August, her time got her a 31st place in the overall two-mile results.

Collett called the cooler and overcast, yet still humid, conditions Saturday morning "perfect weather to run in; it was really nice."

She "started up front" in the race and never gave it up. Second and third place for the women went to teenagers too - runner-up Madison Trippett, 14, of Parkersburg in 12:15.2 for 22nd overall and third-placer Ella Hesson, 13, of Williamstown in 12:25.0 for 26th overall.

Collett thought she'd better last year's time on Saturday, because "I've been putting in some extra miles this summer."

There's really no obstacles on the two-mile course, like the half marathon route, but Collett said that "you always want to get a quicker pace considering it's shorter, so you want to go out a little faster and keep up a faster pace than what you're used to."

Otherwise, you can get caught up in the mass of runners "especially at the beginning because there's a lot of people," said Collett, who runs both cross country and track for PHS.

Collett was born in Parkersburg, but lived in Marietta until fifth grade when she moved to Parkersburg.

Collett got interested in running in sixth grade, when " my sister did cross country and she kind of pushed me into running too."

Collett will be taking a crack at running the half marathon "definitely in the future - I'm not sure when though."

But where two miles is a sprint, "that (the half marathon) is a whole different ball game," said Collett.

 
 

 

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