WV student Liberg exceptional runner
Madeline Liberg already gets recognized in the West Valley community. Her last name has been tied to the high school for close to four decades.
Her grandmother, Helen Liberg, was a teacher and counselor at the high school for 35 years until her retirement in 1996. Her uncle, Brad Liberg, is the vice principal at Centennial Middle School.
“It means something to have my last name,” the sophomore said. “I would never want to do anything to tarnish it.”
She’s hardly in danger of that. In fact, she’s hoping to immortalize it by adding to the large display on the wall just outside the school’s primary gym – the one that honors the school’s track and field record holders.
“I really want to break the school record in the 400,” she said, smiling broadly.
There are a few sentences a track and field coach doesn’t hear. Ranking somewhere after “hand me that piano” is this: “Coach, I really want to be a good 400 meter runner.”
Rick Kuhl, the WV girls coach, can’t say that. Liberg walked up to him before this season and spoke those exact words.
“Whatever,” Kuhl replied.
Kids just don’t volunteer to run the 400 meters – one of the toughest events in track and field. In some circles, the 400 is where coaches stick kids who are in their doghouse.
“You usually stick some kid who runs a 13.4 second 100 in there,” Kuhl said. “You know, a kid who may get to state, but won’t ever make the finals.”
But Liberg has the makeup to excel at that distance. In part, perhaps, due to her love for soccer.
“I think soccer helps because you learn how to dig down and find that something extra at the end of a long match,” she said. “I think that helps when you have to find something extra at the end of a race.”
Here’s the challenge of the 400: The race, one lap around the track, is too long to be a sprint and too short not to be. It’s a case of oxygen debt waiting to happen.
Some runners sarcastically suggest their race strategy is to run as hard as they can for as long as they can – and then hang on for dear life.
Liberg rankles at that strategy.
“I like it,” she explains. “I’m not really fast enough to sprint. I like the fact that you have to dig down and find everything you have to finish a race. If I cross the finish line and I have something left in my tank I haven’t run it right.
“Coach Vic (Wallace) teaches us to run this way: We surge out of the blocks, then we settle in. Then he whistles and we surge again and settle. Then as we come off that last turn, you give it all you’ve got.”
It works for Liberg. She is one of only five runners at this distance to run under a minute. At the Pasco Invitational she ran 59.79. Twelve days later, in a dual meet with Cheney, she ran a personal best 59.60, but she’s not happy about it.
“I keep track of what other people run and I had the third-fastest time in the state for a while,” she said. “I didn’t run for a week and the next time I looked there were two more runners ahead of me – and I know I could beat them in a race if I ran against them head-to-head.”
Liberg gets her chance to improve her time Friday at the district meet on her home track.
Not only will she look to lower her personal best, she will look to help two West Valley relay teams reach the state meet.
“Our relay teams are running well right now,” she said. “Our 4x200 relay has the sixth-fastest time in the state and our 4x400 has the second-fastest time in the state and we have a good chance to win a state title.”
Liberg runs the anchor leg in the latter relay and gives the Eagles an advantage in the race.
Her finish.
“When I come off that last turn, it can be a little scary,” she said. “I really hate to lose and I know I’m going to run as hard as I can. There have been times when I cross the finish line when I’ve passed out, and I’m usually so spent my teammates have to help me off the track and take off my shoes for me.
“But it’s worth it.”