Bartlett's Schneider feasts on experience

Bartlett junior cross country standout Alyssa Schneider's improvement all boils down to one thing that can't be taught.

Experience.

Schneider enters her third season on the Bartlett varsity looking to make an even bigger splash on the heels of her impressive fifth-place finish in the Class 3A state meet a year ago.

"I've improved mentally as I've gotten older especially from freshman to sophomore year," said Schneider. "I'm a lot more confident in my races. I'm pushing myself more and I'm starting to pick it up some more."

Schneider will use her experience this season to navigate through some uncharted waters. She will no longer have the comfort of running with former teammates Sam Salinas and her sister, Kristen Schneider. Those three helped Bartlett advance to the Class 3A state finals as a team last year (16th place as a team).

"I've learned how to run individually and not depend on anybody," said Schneider. "I've set a pace for myself and I'm able to push myself more because of that. Getting older and having Sam and my sister graduate has taught me a lot about how to break away from a race and run on my own."

"She's learning how to be responsible for her own pace and race strategy," said Bartlett coach Beth Emody. "Last year she had her older sister and Sam Salinas. It's an adjustment period right now. She's doesn't have anybody practicing right next to her."

Schneider's experience has also taught her plenty about course management.

"With these courses that we've run before I've gotten used to where the mile points are," said Schneider, who estimates she put in around 30 miles a week in the summer off-season. "Race strategy has helped me a lot. I know the courses and I know how much there is left to run."

Schneider, who placed third in the Upstate Eight Conference last year and took second at both the regional and sectional levels, was quite satisfied with how the end of her 2008 season turned out. She hopes to channel that finish into the 2009 campaign.

"I was very happy with last year," said Schneider, who also took fifth in the 1,600 in Class 3A this past spring. "Where I finished last year was a goal of mine. Anything in the top 10 would have made me happy. Hopefully I can have the same confidence and speed that I did last year and do even better. That's my goal."

Schneider is also used to the fact that she will be running up against some of the state's elite both in and outside of the UEC.

"Running is always a challenge against girls that have been in it for so long," said Schneider. "I love running against the best girls in the state because I know that I am getting pushed as hard as I can be pushed. It motivates me to run against the better girls. It makes me only push myself harder."

Despite all of her success, Schneider is still a relative newcomer to the sport.

"I've only been running since the summer before my freshman year," said Schneider. "My sister was running so I decided to try it. I had never actually ran a race. I played soccer before, so I had no idea how I would do in cross country. I remember doing workouts with the team and not knowing what to expect."

Schneider credits some of her development to Salinas, who graduated last year.

"Sam helped me so much my first year," said Schneider. "She was the one who was always pushing me freshman year. She taught me how to run strong."

Emody isn't surprised in the least bit with how her prized pupil has progressed.

"She has a great work ethic and comes to practice every day with a really good attitude no matter what," said Emody. "She comes out and hits it hard. She's learned how to run. Freshman year she had never run competitively before. She would go out without strategy. Now she thinks more about strategy and she's gotten in the weight room and has become stronger physically."

And as the 2009 season gets in full swing, Schneider senses she will be a point of interest during races.

"After last year I think I'll know who the other runners are that I'm running against and they will know who I am," said Schneider.

After a fifth-place showing, there's only one path for Schneider to walk down.

"I want to keep or increase my place and get a faster time," said Schneider. "I know it will be tough. The field of runners in the state is tough. I'm going to go out and push myself as hard as I can this year."