Shelgren Unbeaten Against MA Rivals
Even though he made it look easy, it's never easy to win a state title, especially when you have the target on your back. St. John's Tristan Shelgren has been dominant all season long and clearly was one of the top contenders to win it all this weekend in the Division 1 race. Shelgren had to contend with a talented field that featured top runners such as Andrew Mah of Newton North and Arlington's Ryan Oosting, who we learned was running despite battling a sickness all week long. Even though Oosting was out of contention by the midway point, Shelgren still had to battle a determined Mah. The Newton North runner made the race honest right from the gun, leading the pack through an opening mile of 4:45. Remaining focused and keeping his eyes focused on a positive outcome at the end, Shelgren was able to make his most convincing move away from Mah with less than a mile remaining and won with a solid clocking of 15:15.82.
The key for Shelgren is he managed to keep his nerves in check throughout the week for one of his most important races of his high school career.
"Deep breaths, pretty much. That was it," he said. "There was a bunch of scenarios playing through my head each night, but it really was deep breaths and don't focus too much on the race. When you start doing the warm-ups that when you have to start getting serious about the race. Again, just playing scenarios and getting ready for it."