November 24, 2004
Excellence has become the norm for Brittany
By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist
It has gotten to the point where excellent performances are just expected from Ocean City High School
junior Brittany Sedberry.
She won the NJSIAA Meet of Champions for the second straight year over the weekend, covering the
challenging Holmdel Park course in 18 minutes, 12 seconds.
“I was even more excited this year than last,” Sedberry said, “because there was more strong competition.
I had to run my fastest time to win it.”
She sure did.
It was more than 13 seconds faster than her previous best on the course, it was the fastest time ever by a
South Jersey girl at Holmdel Park and the fifth fastest run by any girl on the course.
“I thought (Jackson’s) Jen Clausen would be the girl to beat,” said Sedberry, “but it ended up being
(Haddonfield’s) Vanessa (Wright). I anticipated the pack that developed and I knew Jen would try to break
away at the bowl. I let her go, but made sure it was a closable gap. I was able to pass her at the tennis
courts. Then I just had to hold onto the lead.”
Brittany beat Wright by 10 seconds and Southern’s Danielle Tauro, who was third, by 21 seconds.
Clausen finished sixth, 24 seconds behind.
How does a runner turn in such consistently strong times when she runs alone out front for most of the
season?
“I can push myself,” Sedberry explained. “When there is nobody right behind me pushing me to run harder,
I can get myself into the right rhythm. Even at practice, I can tell if I’m running at my best and how hard to
push myself if I’m not.”
She also explained why it is more challenging to repeat. “When you’ve won an event before, there is an
extra pressure. People are expecting you to win it again and you don’t want to disappoint them. But, most
of all, you don’t want to disappoint yourself. I think I am able to win these events because I just want it
more than the other runners.”
Though the high school season ended with the Meet of Champions, there is more ahead for Sedberry. She
will run in the Foot Locker Northeast Regional Championships on Saturday at Van Cortlandt Park in the
Bronx. Last year Sedberry finished second to Nicole Blood of Saratoga (NY) High School in the Foot
Locker regional. She went on to finsih 30th in the National Championships in San Diego.
“I still get nervous about these big races,” she said. “I still have some doubts. I’m not going up to Foot
Locker expecting to finish first or second. I’m going there to finish in the top eight and qualify for the
nationals. It helps that I’ve been there before and have an idea what it takes to succeed in the race. But
the competition is really tough.”
After her post-season cross country efforts are over, Brittany will run indoor track on the OCHS team. “I
was thinking about swimming this winter,” she said. “I’ve been doing it since I was a little kid. But I decided
it was in my best interest to run.”
And run like she’s the very best in New Jersey.
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