Winning a state championship hasn’t affected Crown Point junior Maddie Russin.
“It just made me hope that I can get back into shape,” she said. “I know there’s a new bar that I have to hit now.”
It’s been two months since Russin ended her sophomore year by winning the 800 meters in the state track finals. She passed four runners in the final 30 meters.
But that success hasn’t gone to her head, leaving Russin and Crown Point’s program in a strong position heading into the 2018 cross country season.
“(Russin) is very grounded,” Bulldogs coach Ali Florek said. “She’s still the same Maddie. She’s always been a hard worker and someone who encourages her teammates.”
Any major changes in Russin’s demeanor happened years ago. As a middle school standout in track, Russin focused on middle-distance events.
“I didn’t really like long distances,” Russin said with a laugh. “When I was in track, I was doing the shorter distance events and hurdles, not just the longer distances. But I love it now.”
Russin credited two other distance runners — Anna DeMars, who’s now a senior, and Hannah Wylie, a 2018 graduate who’s now at Montana — with convincing her to join the cross country team in high school.
Russin said it took time to adapt to the longer distances. But Florek confirmed Russin’s talent was apparent from the start.
“Right away, when we started doing workouts, she was toward the front,” Florek said. “We knew that she had a bunch of untapped talent. I’d gone to a few middle school track races and watched her run the mile.
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“You could tell she was going to be a successful distance runner, even if she didn’t know it yet.”
Russin earned all-state honors in her freshman cross country season, finishing 23rd at the state meet with a time of 19 minutes, 5 seconds.
Last season, Russin finished eighth in 18:47 at the New Prairie Semistate, helping the Bulldogs qualify for the state meet as a team.
It’s an achievement Russin described as “one of the best moments of my life.”
Following her track state title last spring, Russin took two weeks off before starting her training for the cross country season. And with another year of experience running those longer distances, Russin looks like an improved runner yet again, Florek said.
“She has better endurance this year,” Florek said. “The long runs don’t seem to bother her as much anymore.”
When asked about goals for the season, Russin’s first reply was to break the 18-minute barrier. She’ll have plenty of chances to do that at Crown Point’s home course at Lemon Lake, where the Bulldogs will run in the conference, sectional and regional meets.
Her other goal involves something she’s never done in cross country — win a race.
“I’ve never won one before,” Russin said slowly, in a manner that made it seem like she was realizing that fact for the first time. “So, yeah, I’d like to win at least one race this year.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.