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sports
Pedersen's a
natural for cross country team
By Alisha Gomez
On-line Forty-Niner
When Andy Sythe
first saw Jaclyn Pedersen run at last year's Mt. SAC Invitational,
he hadn't heard of her.
But from the moment
he saw Pedersen run, he knew he had to recruit her.
"I saw her
run, not knowing how fast she was, and I said to myself 'that
girl is going to be a good runner,'" said Sythe, the
Long Beach State track and field and cross country director.
Sythe successfully
recruited to run for the 49ers and has already seen the benefits.
"She's already
improved tremendously," Sythe said. "She's really
into the lifestyle of a distance runner and she's devoted
to her running."
Pedersen, an 18-year-old
freshman, said she came to LBSU because she really liked the
coaches and athletes and hopes to earn a degree in physical
therapy.
"LBSU has
a really good [academic and athletic] program here with a
great location," Pedersen said.
Believe it or not,
Pedersen didn't start running until she was seven-years-old.
"I got a flyer
for a running club from a friend and by this time I had tried
other sports," Pedersen said, "[but] I didn't like
other sports."
She laughed as
she remembers the first time she ran.
"I did so
bad the first year," Pedersen said. "I ran because
I did sprints and I just was not good at them. But then I
tried the mile and I did really well, so I joined the Simi
Valley Youth Running Rebels, a youth track club, until high
school."
Pedersen trains seven days a week, working out with the LBSU
team six of those days and by herself the other day. She also
works out with weights in addition to practice, and cross-trains
with the team.
"I think I'm
ready for the season," Pedersen said. "I'm much
stronger than ever before and very much in shape."
Pedersen also relies on mental strength and her teammates
to improve her times.
"When I'm
running I try to give myself a lot of positive thoughts,"
Pedersen said. "It really helps having support from my
team also. Everyone on the team is pretty close in running
times, which is good for an intimidation factor."
Sythe has given
Pedersen one goal -- to be the top freshman among all schools.
"I think she
is definitely capable of accomplishing that," he said.
Pedersen has the
same goal in mind.
"My main goal
is to be the top freshman in the conference," she said.
"By really focusing in workouts and on the little things,
like sleep, I think I can accomplish that."
Pedersen and the
entire LBSU cross country squad is scheduled to race at the
UC Riverside Invitational this Saturday.
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