Breaking records: Runner enjoys all aspects of sport

June 9, 2017

No matter which event she ran, Crothersville’s Breanna Barger always came out near, or at, the top.

She broke the school record in the 1,600 and 3,200 this spring and qualified for the regional in 800 and 1,600.

She ran a personal record in the 800 in the sectional at 2 minutes, 35.43 seconds, then lowered her time to 2:25.68 in the regional to qualify for state.

Her school record in the mile is 5:38, and her record in the 3,200 is 12:30.

She helped set the school mark in the 4×800 relay at 11:00.

She said the 400 is her favorite individual event, and she broke the school record in that event her junior year at 1:01.

Barger said she likes coming out of lanes three or four.

“I start strong,” Barger said. “For the first 100 I go strong and then next 200 stride out, and the last 100 kick it in and finish strong.”

During the season, Barger normally ran three individual events and in one relay.

She said she enjoyed the bigger meets like conference and sectional.

“I do like the competition,” Barger said. “Sometimes it is nice to have a relaxing race with just two or three other runners.”

The recent high school grad began running at age 12, and said she ran sprints her eighth-grade year, then changed to distance in high school.

“It was definitely different than sprinting,” she said. “I like to be able to go out and run whenever, not depending on the team. That’s nice.”

In cross-country, Barger also led the Tigers.

Her career-best time was 20:12.

Barger, who helped the Tigers win the conference the past two years and was a two-time semi-state qualifier, said she tried to average six minutes per mile, and admitted the second mile was the hardest to run.

She said she likes flat courses because she trained on flat surfaces.

Barger’s highlight race in cross-country came during her junior year in the regional at Brown County.

She finished 10th in that race to qualify for semi-state. She said her highlight in track was setting the school record in the 400 at regional last year.

Barger said she trains year around.

“I think I was pretty well prepared (for cross-country) compared to a lot of people,” she said. “The heat still gets you even though you are in shape. I like the cooler weather better.

“I had a lot of good races. I’d way my junior year was probably my best year.”

She said practice is important in all sports.

“Practice is very, very important,” Barger said. “If you’re running the 3,200 and you run the 400, you’re not ready for that 400 so you need to work on what you need to do for that race.

“I warm up about the same, but mentally you do have to get ready to sprint in the 400, and in the two-mile you have to learn to start. You can’t start too fast. In the 400 you have to start pretty fast.”

Barger said she has enjoyed attending Crothersville.

“Everybody knows everybody, which I enjoy,” Barger said. “Everybody is friends. With small classes it’s easy for teachers to talk to you.”

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Barger file” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Name: Breanna Barger

School: Crothersville High School

Parents: Carolyn Hendren, Sammie Hendren

Sibling: Jacob, Brittany

Sports: track 4 years, cross-country 4 years, basketball 1 year

Athletic honors: cross-country: All-SAC 4 years, team SAC champions 2 years, regional qualifier 4 years, semi-state qualifier 2 years; track- school records in 400, 1,600, 3,200, 3,200 relay, SAC 400 champion 4 years, regional qualifier 4 years, 2017 state qualifier 800.

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