Coldwater's Kanney wins battle with Atkinson for second title

HEBRON - In 2011, a freshman runner from Coldwater made her first appearance in the cross country postseason. She won her district race in Spencerville with a time of 18:29, thus signifying the potential for the great career to follow for Sarah Kanney.
   However, another district race wasbeing contested on the same Spencerville course that day. A freshman from Liberty Center named Brittany Atkinson won that race with a time only one second slower than Kanney's. A four-year long rivalry was born that day. 
   Kanney would struggle a bit the last two races of that freshman season, finishing second to Atkinson at the Tiffin regional and then ninth at the state meet where Atkinson claimed her first championship.
   The 2012 season saw both runners win their district races at Spencerville once again. But this time Kanney was 23 seconds faster. Kanney kept the momentum through the postseason, defeating her rival by 20 seconds at the Tiffin regional and then pulling away late at the state meet for an eight-second win and her first state championship.
   Coldwater coach Marty Schoenherr stated that day that he knew Sarah was going to win.

"I saw the confidence in her this week," Schoenherr said.
   The pair renewed their rivalry last year when they again met at the Tiffin regional. Kanney again came out on top, defeating Atkinson by 13 seconds. However, the tables were turned at the state meet, where Atkinson earned her second championship with a run 20 seconds faster than Kanney's.
   Leading up to last week's regional race at Tiffin, the competition between the duo was once again highly anticipated. These two competitors swapped the lead back and forth throughout the race, until Kanney pulled away late in the event for a 10-second victory over Atkinson.
   The fourth and final state meet rendition of this challenge occurred Saturday afternoon at the National Trail Raceway. Between the brisk winds and the familiarity the two runners had for each other, word was that strategy would play as much a role as pure talent in this race. A reporter from the Liberty Center area claimed Atkinson had let Kanney win the week before so as not to reveal her full form. Meanwhile, Schoenherr hinted that Kanney would try to draft off Atkinson as much as possible and then use her kick to pull away at the end.
   Early in the race, Kanney and Atkinson found themselves unexpectedly accompanied by Athena Welsh of St. Thomas Aquinas. After two miles, the trio had a 30-second advantage on the rest of the field.
   Kanney said soon thereafter was when it became a two-person race.

"At the two miles mark, that was a windy spot. I tried to stay out of the lead, but with only three of us, it was hard to do," admitted Kanney. "Then Brittany started to surge into the woods."

Welsh could not keep up at that point, leaving the much anticipated one-on-one fight for the individual title.
   With her undefeated season on the line, Sarah had to quickly work out a winning strategy.

"I told myself to start my kick with about 800 meters left," explained Kanney.

As the runners made the turn into the final homestretch, where the wind would be at their back, Sarah took the lead and extended it ever so slightly. Atkinson tried to respond, but the pained expression on her face indicated it was not to be. Kanney kept pulling further away, turning her head backwards three times to ensure Atkinson was not coming back to challenge for the championship.
   Kanney's pre-race strategy had worked to perfection as she crossed the line with a time of 18:00, five seconds ahead of her competitor from Liberty Center.

"These last couple of races, I started slower than I have in the past in order to be able to use my kick," Kanney confirmed.
   With two individual titles apiece, these two competitors are unlikely to meet again on a cross country course for the tie-breaker. Kanney will be taking her running skills to North Carolina State for the next step in her career, while Atkinson is still undecided about her future plans.

While the fans are going to miss seeing these two go at each other, they provided us with a great four-year show.