SEQUIM — Amid the din and clamor of the crowd, Sequim’s Waverly Shreffler heard familiar voices at the Class 2A 800-meter state championship race.
While rounding the final corner and heading to the event’s home stretch, Shreffler received a boost of hometown pride in the form of a raucous rooting section of family and teammates.
“I could hear them and the team cheering me on and encouraging me,” Shreffler said.
“They were at the 300 corner, probably the best spot they could be.”
She said the cascade of cheers kept her on the right path in the race’s final moments.
“When your mind starts to think negatively, just hearing something supportive helps you back into that positive mindset,” Shreffler said.
“They helped me remember what I was running for.
“I remember thinking if I could win this, what it would mean to Sequim, and how excited and honored I’d be to make our little town proud.”
Shreffler did win the state championship, setting a personal record time of 2 minutes, 19.11 seconds to claim the title by more than a second.
She also ran the first leg of Sequim’s school-record setting 4×400 relay team that placed fifth at state.
For her efforts, Shreffler has been selected as the All-Peninsula Girls Track and Field MVP for the second consecutive season by area coaches and the Peninsula Daily News sports staff.
She also was named the Girls Cross Country MVP last fall, making it a clean sweep for an athlete who will participate in both sports at Western Washington University this fall.
Shreffler entered her senior year with an eye on accumulating less anxiety and angst than her pressure-packed junior year.
“To be honest, junior year was incredibly stressful, academically, and with running,” Shreffler said.
As a junior Shreffler dealt with a demanding course load, college entrance testing and applications and a switch from a role as a sprinter to middle and long-distance runner.
“I wanted to be a leader on the team my senior year, and have fun but continue to really work hard,” she said.
“I perform better if I’m thinking positively, so I wanted to be confident and relaxed.”
Shreffler had specific goals in mind such as shaving time in the 800, bettering her fourth-place finish in the event as a junior and helping the school’s 4×200 and 4×400 relay teams improve.
“But what I was most looking at was the realization you can only work as hard as you can, and if you can do that and be proud of the result you’ll feel good about yourself,” Shreffler said.
“I was really happy with the understanding that hard works pays off, and not so much the place you finish or the time you record.”
But that mindfulness was coupled with a vision of a successfully run championship race.
“I never really pictured what it would feel like to stand on the podium or to look up at all of your friends and family there smiling with you,” Shreffler said.
“All season I pictured the race, the competition and where I wanted to be positioned.
“And whenever I got to race I focused on strategy rather than my time. [Trimming] time I would focus on in practice with [Sequim assistant] coach [B.J.] Schade.
“The coaches, especially B.J. Schade, has been an amazing coach for all four years,” Shreffler said.
“He’s a huge part of the reason I did as well as I did.
“I look forward to seeing how his athletes continue to improve.”
Shreffler, who said she will study education at Western Washington with the goal of becoming a teacher, put together a lesson plan of her own, a scouting report on her primary competition during the season.
She tracked her opponents times and splits, looking for an advantage.
“Some friends and I were joking that it’s a little obsessive-compulsive,” Shreffler said.
“You can’t learn everything from statistics, there’s always surprises, but I was able to map out my opponents and determine they were mostly endurance runners and weren’t great sprinters.”
When it came time for the final, Shreffler said her nerves weren’t as noticeable as in past events.
“I felt more composed than many of my other races,” Shreffler said.
“I had nothing to lose, I guess, so I wanted to put everything out there and if I did that I’d be happy with the result.”
With her sprint background and two years of training for cross country and 800 races, Shreffler thought if she could stay close to the leaders she could make a late push to the finish.
“That was my downfall junior year, I didn’t have enough endurance,” Shreffler said.
“This year I had that balance of distance and sprint capability.”
On a windy day, Shreffler stayed behind the leaders, drafting them and saving some energy, and finally made her move in the race’s last 70 to 75 meters.
“I used the momentum off the corner and passed the two right next to each other in front of me,” Shreffler said.
“I was able to pass on the inside which is extremely rare.”
In the 800, as opposed to shorter races, runners are allowed to switch lanes and compete for the inside (shorter) distance.
“I was really lucky to get around the girl in front and that led me to gain more ground than If I had to run around both of them,” Shreffler said.
Shreffler extended her lead and cruised to victory.
She showed off her newly-won first-place medal around the stadium after her victory, but said she hasn’t worn it around Sequim since — except for one major milestone event.
“I’m not one to do that,” Shreffler laughed.
“My teammates teased me and said I should.
“But I did wear it under my [high school] graduation robe, kind of hidden a little bit.”
Having realized a dream, Shreffler looks back at her win with a different image in mind.
“What I had pictured during the season was the race,” Shreffler said.
“And now I picture the post-race celebration.
“Your family, coaches and friends are there all season and it’s a beautiful thing to have so much support from so many people at every level.”
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or at
mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
