Most people would be elated to win 1 state title in their high school career. E.C. Glass sophomore Libby Davidson on the other hand decided it would be fun to try and win them all. Thus far she has not been too far off that goal winning 4/5 state titles as a freshman and because of that she is Virginia's Hoka One Future Star.
Interview with E.C. Glass (Va) sophomore Libby Davidson
First off congratulations on such a stellar freshman running campaign. You won four state titles last year alone… as a freshman. How does it feel to have won that many state titles as a freshman?
It was exciting but I know I have to stay strong to be able to do that again. I have very tough competiton this year and I know it is very hard to achieve that type of goal again. It feels very good though to have done that before.
Of those state titles and achievements including a victory at New Balance Outdoor Nationals, which was your proudest?
The race I am most proud of is definitely the freshman 2 Mile race I won at New Balance Nationals. It was an awesome race atmosphere under the lights at night with good weather and the crowd was amazing. Also all the girls in the race were very good and all same age as me. Racing against such good competition with that crowd at night was amazing.
Coming into this season defending your state title what are some of your goals?
My goals this season are just to stay strong and keep trying to do as well as I am capable of doing. I also just need to remember that there are plenty of great girls and competition in the state and that I have to keep training hard and stay focused to do well against such tough comeptition.
What type of training did you do over the summer months to achieve these goals?
I did a lot of different things. I did speed training, long distance runs, and many workouts. My coaches are great and gave me a lot of work to do over summer to get better and to improve my times this year.
Did you have a best workout in your summer training?
I really like the kind of runs where you run fast then recover. It gives my runs more of a purpose then just going out for a 40 minute run. I really like doing those.
How does it feel to start the season on such a good note running a state leading time in your first invitational and how does it validify all your hardwork and training over the summer?
I was very proud of myself running that time (18:47) at the Jefferson Cup Foot Race. It was a great race and great time to do well with some great competition. It really showed myself that my summer training had paid off and that it valified all my hard work and all the workouts I did.
What are some of your goals this season, you already lead the state but moving forward what are some of your goals related to time and then down the road further into your high schoool carrer?
Break 18! That’s my biggest goal this season, I really want to break 18. Long term wise I would like to race in college in the same events I am running now hopefully at a Division I School. Thats my hope and I also want to be as good as Caroline Alcorta in the state meet by my senior year. She was such a great runner with amazing times and I would hope to be as good as her by my senior year.
You have a lot of meets to run this season, is there anyone in particular that you are looking forward to?
I am really looking forward to the Knights Crossing Invitational at Cave Spring this weekend. There is going to be some really good competition like Blacksburg and Jefferson Forest and it is a fast course. I love that meet and I like good competition to push me, I like racing people that are very fast.
I am assuming cross country is your favorite season, if it is, why is that?
It is! I like how it can be different, I like going over different obstacles like they had at the Blacksburg Relay. I also like how each course is unique and the scenery as well. I love track but I just love being able to see things as well.
What can you attribute most to your succcess to? Is there any one thing that really has helped you?
A lot of things! My parents always come to nearly all my meets and they are very athletic. My competition too. Erin Saunders has pushed me so hard and is always tough competition. The girls on my team push me too. My coaches do a great job training me and making workouts for me to get better so I have a lot of people who have helped me through it all. There was not a specific training thing that led to my success. Blending a mix of all different types of workouts (track, hills, distance) and putting them all together has made my training more successful. Not just one, it is all of them.
