Weilbaker earns shot at fourth state title
Saratoga Springs senior advances after taking 3,200 section qualifier
Saratoga Springs High School senior Shea Weilbaker likes the technical aspects of a distance race, the patience and figuring out when to pace yourself and when to make a move.
“And I’m not really that good at sprinting,” he said after winning the 3,200-meter race during the Section II qualifying meet on Sunday at SEFCU Arena on the Ualbany campus.
Next weekend, Weilbaker heads to Staten Island where he will compete for his fourth state championship in four track seasons. He won an outdoor and indoor 3,200-meter title last year, and a 5k cross country championship earlier this year.
On Sunday, Weilbaker ran the 3,200 meters in 9:24, not close to the personal best of 8:59 he ran last year, and the 9:07 he ran earlier this season at the Freedom Games is the eighth-best time in the country for 2019. It is the fastest time of any runner in New York state this year.
SEFCU Arena, though, notoriously produces slow times, said Saratoga distance coach Shane Zanetti.
“The track here is a little tighter, and the turns are a little tighter. The times will be much faster next week,” he said. “In Staten Island, the track is longer and the turns are banked slightly, so they will run faster next week than they did this week. But, all the kids do compete on the same track.”
Weilbaker said he won’t change his routine much over the next few days heading into the state meet and that includes getting enough sleep and eating right.
“I need eight hours of sleep and I just don’t feel right if I get seven. And I’m not a vegan but I do try to stay away from processed foods.” he said. “Today was all about qualifying, which I did, but next week I will focus more and leave it all on the track.”
Zanetti said Weilbaker trains by running between 60 and 70 miles a week and “responds well to distance training.”
“He has been a great asset for our program,” Zanetti said of Weilbaker, who will be running track at Georgetown University in the fall. “He is a silent leader and leads by example. New York is very competitive, and if you are competitive in New York, you are going to be competitive nationally. Our long distance runners are just that good.”
On Sunday, Weilbaker led from the starting gun to the finish line, often checking over his shoulder to see where the other runners were.
“I like running out front because you get to control the race,” he said.