The sprinter who would be a distance runner – Liz Costello of Constoga.
She has speed, strength, and stamina.
That makes Liz Costello a sprinter. No... probably more of a middle distance runner. Nah, that's not entirely accurate either. Maybe she's a distance runner.
Hmm, could she actually be all of the above? Well, why not?
Early in the race, the pace is steady, but controlled - by Liz.
Strath Haven's Lisa Vienneau (far left) was 11th in 5:12.80.
(Photo by MaroonNews, Ridgewood, NJ)
To say this is a dream season for state cross country champ, Foot Locker Finalist, Millrose Mile Qualifier, and Princeton-bound Conestoga senior Liz Costello would be an understatement.
"I've planned this all very well," dead-panned Costello during a conversation a day after her 4:56.08 Mile win in the New Balance Games; a performance that automatically qualified her for the prestigious high school Millrose Mile on February 3rd at Madison Square Garden.
Coming into the fall, her original goal in switching from part-time soccer, part-time cross country runner to a full-time runner was to get the base to lower her PR in the 800 from a 2:12. The assault on that mark will probably come at the PTFCA Track Carnival on Saturday, February 11th at Lehigh University. Whether it happens on that day or not, it will likely fall before she graduates. To understand why, you simply have to understand the focus that this athlete brings to each and every race.
"...this is personal. I don't want anybody getting to that finish line before I do." - after her District 1 Championship in October, 2005.
"Get out of my way, this is for San Diego." – after the Northeast Foot Locker race in November, 2005
""It gets personal" if the race turns into a sprint. – during post-race interview in at 1/21 New Balance Games
OK, so maybe the focus is helped by a touch of competitiveness. But you get the point.
After the 1200, it's just Costello and Doswell.
(Photo by MaroonNews, Ridgewood, NJ)
The amazing thing about Costello is that much like this year's Pittsburgh Steelers, and despite evidence to the contrary, Costello considers herself the underdog. "It's exciting to be at this level with nothing to lose. There is no pressure."
That fits in with coach Ryan Comstock's pre-race strategy of "don't think, just run." It's a philosophy that Costello has adopted this season with great success. Admittedly, she used to worry about who was in a race during her junior year. Now she just goes, and lets the chips, and the competitors, fall where they may.
Before her mile at New Balance, she warmed up outside by running around the Armory... along with everybody else. Several times during her warmup she would pass a familiar face. With one specific girl, the recognition went beyond casual. "We were looking at each other like we recognized each other, saying to ourselves, 'I know her'. I didn't say hi, because I was thinking about my race. But I knew, just looking at her, that she would be a formidable opponent."
As it turns out, she was. It was Katie Doswell of Saint Catherine's in Richmond, Virginia. Congratulating each other and comparing notes after their great race, they realized they had been on a recruiting visit together to Princeton University, and maybe at a track camp a year or two earlier.
Small world.
And an even smaller track... one the two shared at the front of a very big race for both of them. It was almost a year ago when Doswell had run an incredible 2:47.21 1000m on the same track. Like Costello, she can split under 59 in the 400. And her 800 time is a bit faster, on paper at least, than Costello's. So the race was bound to be a great one.
The home stretch... 4:56.09!
(Photo by MaroonNews, Ridgewood, NJ)
Stevie Wonder does his thing.
Coach Comstock helped her through her pre-race prep, telling her what to expect and trying to get her into that "unbeatable" frame of mind. "I told her that lap by lap, the closer she got to the finish the worse it would be for everyone else and the more comfortable she should feel." It also helped that she had her Stevie Wonder's Greatest Hits CD. That meant, according to her coach, that "everything else would just fall in place."
Costello found herself on the outside of the front group in the stagger. Not the best position, and one generally reserved for the slower qualifiers in a race. It gave her a bit of a chip on her shoulder, but she understood that her recent PR of 5:06.00 was not enough to get her the placement she thought she deserved. And ironically, it played directly into her normal race tactic of getting out fast. "I start a race like it's the 100 meter dash."
That mentality is not far from her roots in the sport. "I was a sprinter in 8th grade, so I have that sprinter mentality in workouts and in races. I love sprinter workouts because they make me feel fast." That thinking, along with her natural speed, help her keep her place on the team's very strong 4x400. "I love the girls and keeping foot speed. Two weeks ago I split 59. That gives me confidence."
With a quick start in her first big-time mile, Costello got to the front and hoped to settle in behind someone. "No one wanted to go out. I didn't want to ruin my race over that, but I was saving a lot. We cruised through the quarter (75) in a relatively slow pace. But no one wanted to take control." On the 4th lap heading for the 800, JFK's Megan Kritdain took control. Costello was happy for the help. "I rode that on the 4th and 5th laps. She did the work on those. With three to go, I went and Doswell followed me. I really felt her on my shoulder until the homestretch heading into the last lap. She never came close again. On that last lap, I was thinking about Millrose." The time of 4:56.09 (75.5, 77.5, 73, 70) was nearly a ten-second PR.
Costello knows that going out fast – she means too fast – in a race, can sometimes play into her competitor's plans. "I am often the guinea pig in a race. These girls will use that to their advantage, so I had to be careful."
Sharing the dream.
For Coach Comstock, this is a dream season, as well. "I am like a little kid when it comes to this stuff! after every lap I was more and more excited. She looked absolutely perfect out there. I definitely knew about Doswell's 800 speed and it looked like she was just sitting on Liz for a bit and waiting to just make her move. But this was a situation we talked about and practiced for."
Costello is also one of the legs on a very good 4x800. At New Balance, they went 9:24.34 for 3rd. It's the top time in PA this season, and #3 in the US. The team had been in 6th place when Costello got the stick, and her 2:15 split got them into 3rd. That leg isn't her usual spot. Comstock had planned for Costello to lead off, but when the race was called, she was still outside warming up. The meet was running a bit early. When she arrived, she heard the gun, was handed her spikes – "It was great to get to chase down people in sprinter spikes." – and took off. Leadoff Ashley Niness ran 2:22, Katherine Fenwick clocked 2:27 and anchor Carly Niness ran 2:18.
All the tools she needs...
While Costello's event schedule isn't entirely locked in stone, there are some absolutes when it comes to meets. Of course, she'll be at Madison Square Garden on February 3rd for the Millrose Mile. On February 11th at the PTFCA Track Carnival, she will go after her PR in the 800, and maybe run a leg of the 4x200. A week later at the banked track of Penn State University, they are considering the Mile and 3000 double. And seven days later, it's the PTFCA Indoor State Champs on that same track. She may attempt the distance double, and then try to go sub-2:20 in the 4x800. And there's always that 4x400.
Well, decisions, decisions. But those are good problems to have. With speed, strength and stamina, Costello believes she is ready for almost any race situation at almost any distance. "I feel prepared. I have all the tools I need."
But first, it's on to the Millrose Games.
While watching Costello win the Mile at New Balance, Coach Comstock couldn't help but think back a decade to when he saw the Millrose Games. "Ten years ago I went to watch with my high school coach (West Chester Henderson's Bill Lott), and I remember watching Michael Stember destroy everyone in the last 400 of the mile. Little did I know that I would be there again in a few years, watching one of my own athletes out there battling for the win!" Costello is ready. "It's exciting to be at that level with nothing to lose. I've planned this all very well."
Something says she's only half joking...