Champions' TriBUne Archive
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: Sarah AntrichChampions' TriBUne is a special feature through Baylor Athletics that gives you the student-athlete's perspective and the chance for them to share their own story. Sarah Antrich, a senior biology major from Houston, Texas, has been a scoring runner at the last three NCAA Regional cross country meets and placed 35th overall a year ago. Antrich finished third and 25th, respectively, in the first two meets of the year and will run in Saturday's Arturo Barrios Invitational in College Station:
Sports have always been a big part of my life. I did competitive gymnastics through elementary school, volleyball from middle school to early high school, and eventually found myself on the cross-country team by my sophomore year of high school. I immediately fell in love with running and was glad I made the switch, even if it meant 6 a.m. practices every day. It led me to one of the best experiences of high school, competing with my team at Nike Nationals the following year, and by my senior year I finished my high school career ranked No. 7 in the state of Texas. After a lot of deliberation, I committed to run for Baylor because I loved the emphasis on research and the Christian environment, and the cross-country team was so welcoming.
As I entered Baylor as a freshman, I was so excited for a fresh start. However, things didn't go quite as planned. In my first week at Baylor, Hurricane Harvey flooded my childhood home, and I got a bad case of IT band syndrome that sidelined me for months. I felt so isolated from the team and was homesick, but I continued to work hard in rehab and the pool in hopes that things would turn around.
A few weeks before the Big 12 Championships, my IT band was kind enough to loosen up a bit to allow me to run. Coach Todd Harbour decided to put me in the race after my first college tempo (a week before the race) went well. I was so nervous for my first-ever college race to be at the conference championships, not to mention it would also be my first-ever 6-kilometer race (my teammates kept saying you don't notice the extra 1k, but that was definitely a lie to make me feel better). However, I felt good during the race, and finished as the fifth scoring runner for Baylor. A couple weeks later, I was toeing the line at the NCAA Regional meet, where we were hoping to qualify for nationals. I barely slept the nights leading up to the race because I knew it was on me whether or not we'd qualify. I ran my guts out and again finished 5th for the team with a time of 21:34, which was a huge PR. We came in third overall, which was one spot away from an automatic berth at nationals. I blamed myself for not closing the 4-5 gap, but it helped me learn the lesson that it's important to be proud of the effort if you gave it your all, even if the end result wasn't exactly how you imagined it.
When junior year rolled around, things were oddly similar to freshman year. Angry IT band. Unusual family circumstance (instead of a flood, it was our family's third bout with bacterial meningitis). Not racing until the end of the season. After a lot of frustration with the irritation in my IT band and uncertainty about if I would have a season, things turned around last minute after a steroid shot quelled the tendon. I managed to get in a few weeks mileage before I raced at A&M. A couple weeks later, I raced the Big 12 Championships, finishing 4th for the team at both. I was hoping to do a little better but was trying not to be too hard on myself considering the circumstances. Regionals was a couple weeks later, and I actually felt ready for once. Even though most of my training was from swimming and biking, it was a good course and the weather was nice, so I felt ready to run fast. I started off steady, then worked my way through the pack to finish as Baylor's #1 runner, missing All-Region by just a few places.
My initial reaction after the race was disappointment. Some of the team and Coach Capron were disappointed with the overall results, so I felt guilty that I didn't help the team more. However, it's this mindset that caused me to be so stressed and lose some of the passion for running. There will rarely be a perfect race. I gave everything I had in that race, so there wasn't anything else I could ask from myself. Throughout my running career (and life in general), I overanalyze, and end up turning every situation into "What could I have done differently?" Reflecting can be a good and helpful thing, but when it becomes so obsessive that there's no longer any joy, you've taken it too far. Learning to be happy when you give your best effort instead of focusing on the minuscule things you could have changed is such an important lesson I've been learning.
What motivated me to stay determined through months of cross training due to my chronically angry IT band and a broken foot was the thought of just running freely, not worrying about pace or time. I craved the sound of lots of shoes hitting the gravel, or that runner's high, post- long run. There's beauty in the simplicity of the sport, but when you start to overanalyze, it loses some of its luster.
I've had many setbacks and injuries in my running career, but I wouldn't want to go back in time to change anything. These obstacles made me a stronger and more dedicated person. Having to constantly swim strengthened my work ethic and determination, because I seriously hate swimming. Ask my parents, who forced me to join swim team. I rarely complain, but I think I complained every day before swim practice. Yet, knowing that's what I needed to do so I could help my team later in the season forced me to suck it up and swim in a creepy basement many early mornings.
These experiences have helped me find my identity outside of running/athletics. I am truly passionate about running, but having other interests and not letting it consume your life is so important. Seeking validation solely from a sport, or placing your self-worth in your athletic performance can be so damaging. I went through periods where my confidence and self- esteem were directly correlated with how my races went and any validation I did or didn't receive, and let's just say it wasn't a healthy habit. It was so integral for me to realize that although running has played a big role in shaping my identity, I have value in who I am as a person that shouldn't be lowered after a bad race or breaking a metatarsal. It is your choices that show what you truly are more than your abilities.
I am so thankful for all the people and experiences that Baylor Cross Country have brought into my life. My teammates are also my closest friends, roommates and quarantine buddies. Running has created so many fond memories like competing at nationals in Portland, going to a Cubs game after the race at Notre Dame, or breaking 6 minutes in the mile for the first time the day after I broke my arm and got a root canal when I was in middle school. There's many not-so-fond ones as well, like getting lost in a blizzard on long run in Michigan with Madelaine Johnston (we seriously thought we had frostbite), but are now fun to look back on. I've learned a lot from my time at Baylor that I'll take with me post-grad, and I look forward to the next chapter of my life on the path to becoming a Nurse Practitioner!
Previous Champions' TriBUne Features
Volleyball - Hannah Sedwick (Oct. 1, 2020)
Soccer - Maddie Algya (Sept. 10, 2020)
Men's Basketball - Freddie Gillespie (March 26, 2020)
Women's Track & Field - Tuesdi Tidwell (March 20, 2020)
Women's Basketball - Moon Ursin (March 5, 2020)
Men's Track & Field - Cole Hardan (Feb. 27, 2020)
Volleyball - Shelly Stafford (Jan. 30, 2020)
Men's Golf - Mike McGraw (Jan. 3, 2020)
Volleyball - Yossiana Pressley (Dec. 5, 2019)
Baseball - Nick Loftin (Nov. 21, 2019)
Men's Cross Country - Ryan Day (Nov. 1, 2019)
Women's Cross Country - Lindsay Walton (Oct. 15, 2019)
Men's Basketball - Obim Okeke (Oct. 1, 2019)
Volleyball - Gia Milana (Sept. 17, 2019)
Soccer - Raegan Padgett (Sept. 5, 2019)
Football - Sam Tecklenburg (Aug. 29, 2019)
Men's Golf - Cooper Dossey (July 11, 2019)
Baseball - Richard Cunningham (June 27, 2019)
Men's Tennis - Jimmy Bendeck (June 14, 2019)
Baseball - Shea Langeliers (May 30, 2019)
Women's Track & Field - Kiana Horton (May 22, 2019)
Men's Golf - Garrett May (May 9, 2019)
Women's Golf - Maria Vesga (May 2, 2019)
Acrobatics & Tumbling - Camryn Bryant (April 25, 2019)
Equestrian - Shannon Hogue (April 16, 2019)
Women's Tennis - Angelina Shakhraichuk (April 9, 2019)
Women's Basketball - Lauren Cox (March 22, 2019)
Men's Track & Field - Wil London (March 7, 2019)
Men's Basketball - Jake Lindsey (March 4, 2019)
Softball - Nicky Dawson (Feb. 21, 2019)
Baseball - Josh Bissonette (Feb. 14, 2019)
Men's Tennis - Will Little (Jan. 31, 2019)
Men's Basketball - King McClure (Jan. 17, 2019)
Women's Basketball - Chloe Jackson (Jan. 3, 2019)
Football - Blake Blackmar (Dec. 13, 2018)
Volleyball - Braya Hunt (Nov. 29, 2018)
Soccer - Jackie Crowther (Nov. 16, 2018)
Women's Cross Country - Alison Andrews-Paul (Nov. 8, 2018)
Football- Ira Lewis (Nov. 6, 2018)
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