Written by: Madison Kingsbury
Elijah Armstrong
Hometown: Pocatello, ID
Event: 3200 m
2015 Simplot Games Finish: 1st place with a time of 9:01:04
Hometown favorite, Elijah Armstrong, did not disappoint his cheering crowd Saturday when he won the 3200 m at the 2015 Simplot Games.
He went in with the goal to beat the meet record of 9:00:62. He was not able to break the record but did come close with his time of 9:01:04.
After leading the entire race Elijah finished strong with Levi Thomet right on his heels. Elijah has ran at Simplot four years in a row.
Receiving second place the first three years he was finally able to finish first his senior year.
“Being able to go after it with one of my best friends pushing me through it felt awesome. Also to be able to run in front of Pocatello and do well.”
Elijah also mentioned that even though he loves cross country track is his “one true love”.
When asked about his goal for this track season he said, “The biggest thing with me is to stay healthy and enjoy it. With it being my senior year to compete with my good friends and run in front of crazy crowds like this one.”
Levi Thomet
Hometown: Kodiak, AK
Event: 3200 m
2015 Simplot Games Finish: 2nd place with a time of 9:02:18
Levi Thomet kept pace with Elijah the entire race Saturday. After watching Levi on Thursday it was obvious that he would have no problem competing with Elijah during the final race.
When asked how the race felt Levi said “It felt great. I think having Elijah here to pace off of, and us working together definitely helped out. I don’t think I would have ran that fast without him here.”
He also mentions that he liked the track. He said, “It’s a nice indoor track. No wind factor. No anything. It was perfect conditions.”
After Levi graduates he wants to go to Germany for a year and run with the European club there. When that year is over he plans to come back to the states and go to college, possibly at the University of Oregon or the Naval Academy.
Amelia Mazza-Downie
Hometown: Maribyrnong, AU
Event: 3200 m
2015 Simplot Games Finish: 1st place with a time of 10:33:25
Amelia Mazza-Downie arrived in the United States from Australia the night of the 16th to compete at the 2015 Simplot Games. It was hard for her to get used to the time change for the first few days but Wednesday she got a good night’s sleep and was ready to race on Thursday in the girl’s 3200 meter preliminary race where she qualified for finals.
After the final race on Saturday Amelia said, “It felt pretty comfortable at the start but then the last few laps were really tough knowing that second place was on my tail so I had to try really hard.”
Amelia has been running for six years and is very excited for this coming season. Nationals in Australia is coming up soon and Amelia is hoping to take 1st or 2nd place. That would qualify her to represent Australia in the World Youth Competition.
Makena Morely
Hometown: Bigfork, MT
Event: 3200 m
Simplot Games Finish: 2nd place with a time of 10:41:94
Makena ran a great race on Saturday and was happy to get the rust off and to start racing this season. She started running in sixth grade but says she hated it and that she wasn’t very fast.
She has learned to love it and it is a good thing she stuck with it so that she could become the great runner that she is today.
Makena said, “I want to make it to some of the bigger meets out there and compete against everybody and see what I can do.”
By the end of the year Makena hopes to be able to break the national record in the 3200 m which is 9:48:59. She is a senior this year and after she graduates will run for the University of Montana.
Advice for runners:
All four athletes have been running for six years. I have barely completed a full year this spring. So, being relatively new to running, I asked what advice they would give to a new runner. Elijah and Makena both agreed in saying that the most important thing was to enjoy it.
Elijah said, “I think the biggest thing is to enjoy every minute. Kind of take the pressure off and just look at it as a fun experience and just live in the moment.”
Makena’s insight was, “The biggest thing is to have fun and enjoy what you’re doing. Just work up to things too. Because I wasn’t very good right away. So if you’re not very good right away don’t worry about it, just keep going and you’ll get there.”
Amelia’s opinion was a little different. “I think always listen to your coach otherwise you’ll definitely end up injured. Don’t do any extra than he says you should do or don’t do any less. Just do exactly what’s on your program.”
Levi's love for running was planted early. He said “I was always enjoying the fitness mile. That was the big thing then.”
It was a pleasure to talk to these four and I wish them luck onto the rest of their seasons!
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