Whalen off to a fast start

When Post Falls sophomore Angie Whalen burst onto the cross-country scene last season, it became apparent to coach Brian Trefry that he had someone special on his hands.

Whalen, who as a freshman finished third in the state at Eagle Island a year ago, has continued to progress and last week was ranked No. 1 in the state among 5A runners by the unofficial Idaho cross country poll.

“Angie is a great talent,” says Trefry. “At this point in her career – and, mind you, it’s still very early – she’s completely living up to expectations.”

But expectations cut both ways.

And Whalen, who finished third to Sandpoint’s Megan Bartlett and Coeur d’Alene’s Anna Stone at the Super 1/Farragut Invitational last Saturday, says she fights a constant battle between where she thinks she should finish and where she actually finishes.

“I didn’t have my best race at Farragut,” said Whalen, who will get another shot at Bartlett and Stone this afternoon at the Lewiston Invite. “I started off too fast, which is a problem I’ve been working on.

“So, hopefully, next race I can slow myself down a little bit in the beginning and then I’ll be able to have more at the end – I just lost it after the hills.”

She says her freshman season was mostly just run, run, run.

To stay on top, she now knows she’ll have to mix in some think, think, think.

“I guess I didn’t really encounter it last year, so this year it’s kind of a shock,” Whalen says. “We’ve been doing a lot of training with it with my coaches and at Lewiston we’re doing a whole new strategy that I’m going to run.

“Hopefully it will be helpful.”

When asked about the biggest misconception regarding her sport, Whalen has an answer at the ready.

“I think that people don’t realize how much strength it takes – mentally and physically,” says Whalen, who takes honors classes at PFHS. “To do this sport, you really have to be very driven to get to the places you want to be and to do the things that you want to do.”

But her efforts bring rewards.

“I guess – going back to determination and drive – that running cross country has really disciplined me,” says Whalen, who also runs distance races in track for the Trojans. “And that helps a lot in school and with friends.”