PREP Q&A WITH MEGHAN SCOTT
Meghan Scott won the state cross country title last fall and then fell from sight. The Divine Savior Holy Angels senior suffered a foot injury before track season and didn’t compete this past spring. Scott, however, has returned to competition in cross country and scored her first victory of the season Friday at the Highlander Invitational at Tendick Park. Scott completed the 5,000-meter course in 19 minutes 15.9 seconds to beat the second-place finisher by almost 10 seconds and lead DSHA to the team title. And after she caught her breath, she talked about her return to competition, her freak injury and her approach to her senior season.
Q. Being the defending state champion, does that change your approach to the season? A. I don’t really think so. I’m trying to keep my same mentality and give my all to every race. I don’t think it changes that much. I’m just trying to run as hard as I can all the time to get better.
Q. You missed all of track season due to a unique injury. Tell us what happened. A. I actually broke the fifth metatarsal in my foot while I was Irish dancing, which a lot of people find hard to believe. But I’ve been dancing since I was 4 years old and I really think it works well with running because it works on stamina and core strength and leg strength. So yeah, I broke it Irish dancing getting ready for the world championships.
Q. Did the injury knock you out of the world championships? A. Actually I danced on it. It was in Ireland, so I took off and then just danced on stage for my team.
Q. What do you get out of Irish dancing that is different than cross country? A. I love it. It works on stamina a lot. I think they focus on the same thing, just getting through, being mentally tough and physically strong (and) working with your team to do well.
Q. Did the injury affect your training? Were you able to prepare for the season the way you want? A. I was back by the end of May, so I eased back into it to make sure I wouldn’t go all the way out and then I was able to get my summer miles in, so I was happy with how it worked out.
Q. How difficult was it to sit out track season? A. It was pretty tough, especially at the meets watching everyone do something, but it really made me appreciate my ability to run and do something I love. Coming back to cross country, it gets me even more excited to race and just do what I love with my teammates.