Tessa Barrett powers away from challengers
By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor
SAN DIEGO – A year after suffering a hairline fracture in her femur during a freak fall at a cross country race, Tessa Barrett of Waverly, Pa. conquered Balboa Park and became Pennsylvania's first Foot Locker girls champion.
Barrett overwhelmed the girls field with her willpower and her impressive strength, running away from challenger Hannah DeBalsi in the final 300 to win the 5,000-meter race in 17:16.
And while the top three finishers at Nike Cross Nationals all have better track credentials than Barrett, it's a safe bet that none of them do 90 chin-ups every day.
The Penn State-bound Barrett, who broke the course record in every race she ran through her state meet, is a physical fitness fanatic who works behind the front desk at the Birchwood Fitness Center in Clark's Summit, Pa.
"I love doing core work," said Barrett, who uses her employee benefit gym membership to sculpt her muscles.
That commitment to exercise has also helped her over come an affliction called atypical migraine syndrome, which she has battled for several eyars.
Acquiring the confidence to match her strength was perhaps her biggest challenge. After the fall last year, in which she slipped in the mud and twisted her leg awkwardly, Barrett heard that it might take up to 20 weeks to return to running. But she made it back in eight weeks and put together a string of strong results indoors and outdoors. In addition to her daily workout routine, she added a swimming component as she recovered from the injury.
But it was the first cross country meet of the season, the first time running on uneven ground with potential hazards, where her fears surfaced.
"That was an emotional race but after I got through it I was like 'OK, I think I'm going to be alright,'" Barrett said.
The Abington Heights senior blitzed through the rest of the Pennsylvania season and then beat the strongest Foot Locker regional field to take the Northeast crown at Van Cortlandt Park in New York.
On Saturday, Barrett always seemed like she was in control. She made the surges that forced the others in the race to respond or be dropped.
But going up the hill the second time through, Barrett's lead against a talented field was only 10 meters. And DeBalsi, the sophomore from Staples, Ct., made a push to close the gap.
On the downhill that begins the flight to the finish, DeBalsi almost pulled even with Barrett. But then the Barrett sprang to life and pulled away impressively.
DeBalsi finished second in 17:26, South region champion Caroline Alcorta was third in 17:31 and Phillips Andover Academy (Mass.) junior Anoush Shehadeh was fourth in 17:35.
With three in the top four, the Northeast won the team title with 26 points. The girls from the West, led by Anna Maxwell's fifth-place finish, were next with 49 points.
