Daniel Southard is a junior at Daviess County High School in Owensboro. He was one of several lead runners for Daviess County last cross country season helping them to a fifth place team finish. This past spring he established himself as an up and comer on the track by running a best of 9:38 for the 3200m Run as a sophomore. He answers question about his upcoming cross country season and being part of the rich tradition at Daviess County.
KY: Favorite Course
DS: My favorite course has got to be Yellow Creek Park. It's always a great atmospshere and it's a very fan friendly course.
KY: Favorite Race
DS: My favorite race is definitely state meet. The minute you step on the line the adrenaline hits you and you can feel all of the great competition around you.
KY: So what clicked this spring in track, you were solid in XC last fall, but then this spring you were constantly running around 9:50 all track season including a best of 9:38 for the 3200m Run?
DS: I think what clicked was just confidence. Freshmen year I really had no idea of what to expect in track. I was just doing for conditioning. Then sophomore year something just clicked. I think it was a mental thing I got it in my head how fast I was going to run and did my best to get there. Workouts also got tougher which made me stronger. My teammates really pushed each other in the workouts and that made us all better. I had a lot of help from my coaches yelling out my splits for each lap. The race that really clicked was Eastern Relays. That was one of the most exciting rights of my life. The competition and fans were unbelievable after that then I just started having fun. I started to like track and the 2 mile especially.
KY: How is that monster jump during track going to help you in XC?
DS: I hope that my track experience will carry over to this XC season. This past track season has encouraged me to train harder for this upcoming season and become more dedicated to this wonderful sport. It has done the same for my teammates.
KY: Do you feel any pressure to hear that your 9:38 is only 1 second behind the High School PR of Daviess County 2010 State Champ Evan Ehrenheim?
DS: I feel privileged to be in any way close to Evan, not pressure. Me and Evan are good friends and it's an honor to be even in conversation with someone I looked up to as a freshmen and still do today. He's just a great guy.
KY: What kind of mileage have you put in this summer?
DS: My mileage this summer was only around 140 miles due to the fact i was unable to run for 3 weeks because of reconstructive sinus surgery. But it was still a good summer and we are already begging to train hard.
KY: Favorite practice of the year?
DS: I don't really have a favorite practice, I have a favorite week of practice, Which is when we go to camp in Gatlinburg TN and train and run in the mountains. It's a great bonding experience for all of my teammates.
KY: No favorite practice, prefer repeats or tempo runs?
DS: I prefer tempo runs because I like to be able to push the pace while also getting in some distance.
KY: What do you like to do when you are not running?
DS: When I'm not running I just like to hang out with friends, swim, watch movies, play Xbox. I also love to play basketball in any free time I get.
KY: Give me a good Coach Rowe story?
DS: Oh, the stories I could tell about Coach Rowe. Well it was about a week before regionals and 2 weeks before state my freshmen year. We were running at Yellow Creek Park through this obstacle course and Coach hit his head. Blood started pouring out of his head and the whole team was freaking out and asked if he needed help. He said "No, let's go boys." We still had about 2 or 3 miles left to run and he finished the whole run and he ended up needing a few stitches which he thought was cool. We like to joke that Coach is like the next Rocky.
KY: As a Daviess County runner, tradition is all around you starting with Coach Rowe and his 30 plus years of coaching. How crazy is it to think you have to run sub 15:30 to make the all-time top 7 list at Daviess County?
DS: It's extremely exciting when I look at how fast I would have to run to be considered a top 7 runner of all time at Daviess County. I think it just shows our tradition and makes me even happier to be a part of a team that has that type of challenge and it will definitely be one of my many goals to achieve in the next 2 seasons.
KY: If you have a free meet and could do any event? What would it be and why that event. (This assumes you have practiced the event)
DS: If I had a free meet I would probably like to do the 5K. I love the 3200 as well but I like the races with a little longer distance.
*** It seems like I remember some website hosting a 5K Showdown last year that will happen again in March*** (HINT, HINT)