As soon as the sound of the starter pistol goes off, Elizabeth Butler takes off with the mindset to get first. Not only did she just get first, but she accomplished one of the greatest achievements a runner could do.
With Butler being a senior this year, she knows she has to give it everything she has this year. During her 3200 she heard the announcer say what she needed to set a new PR. “Around the 400 meters to go,” Butler said. “I heard the announcer say that I would need an 81 second 400 to break my indoor record.” She new that she had to get that determination to push forward and get that PR.
As Butler was running her 3200, she set a new PR and lapped everyone she was competing against. “It felt really weird to be that far ahead of everybody,” Butler said. “Because usually there are few girls close to me.” Right off the start she knew that she would be racing against the clock. She had seen the heat sheets and knew who would be in her race.
At the start she didn’t know that she had even lapped the girls she was competing with. “I didn’t realize a had lapped everyone at the time,” Butler said. “But I’m friends with some of the girls in the race, so I could tell when I lapped them.” To lap one person is an accomplishment, but to lap everyone is something not many runners accomplish.
Having your teammates support is something that everyone wants to have to help them with that push. Butler could hear her teammates cheering for her during the race which really gave her the push she needed. But Elizabeth is also an amazing teammate as well. “Elizabeth is an amazing teammate,” Zoe Gebhart said. “She supports me by running with me almost every day and by giving me insightful advice.”
Butler will be looking to continue her season success this Wednesday at the Girls Track and Field meet against North Central and Warren Central.