She may not have finished atop the medal stand on Saturday, but Jynna Fritz was far from disappointed in her finish at the MSHSAA Track Championships.The Wright City junior ran a personal-best time …
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She may not have finished atop the medal stand on Saturday, but Jynna Fritz was far from disappointed in her finish at the MSHSAA Track Championships.The Wright City junior ran a personal-best time of 5:35 during the mile, shaving six seconds off her previous mark, during the race at Lincoln University in Jefferson City.“I felt like I was doing really well,” said Fritz. “I started out a little fast, but I was able to keep a strong pace and PR. That’s made me realize I can get past the 5:40 mark.”She finished in 14th place, outside of the Top 8 medalist spots, but kept her sights on the leaders much of the way.“Instead of trying to do my own pace, I tried to keep up with the first four in front of me,” said Fritz. “That kept me in fifth place for the first two laps, and then I started to fall back a little bit.”“She ran a fantastic race, and I couldn’t be more proud of the effort she gave this year,” said Coach Sue Wright.The winning time was a 5:11, recorded by Parker Fane of St. James. Fritz says she aspires to be much closer to that mark a year from now.“I’ve worked really hard to get where I’m at,” said Fritz. “The main thing that’s gotten me here is that I haven’t just settled for my natural talent, but I see it as something fun to do and work hard at improving.”She is also hopeful of making it to state in two other events, having reached sectionals in both the 800-meter and two-mile race.“I personally feel like the mile is my strongest event,” said Fritz. “I know I do well in the 800, but I like the mile more. The 800 is a little too fast-paced for me.”Wright says she will consider not running a 1,600-meter relay team in the postseason next spring in order to allow Fritz to focus more on her open events.“I think if she can put all her energy toward the 800, mile and two-mile races, she’ll have a chance to advance in multiple events,” said Wright.She already owns the school record in the 800 and is eager to pursue the remaining distance records as well.“I feel like next year I’ll do a lot better,” said Fritz.FRITZ RECORDS PERSONAL BEST AT STATEDerrick Forsythe photo.
