Salute to Our Seniors: Grace Barter

 

Grace Barter:  Sandwich high school

 

"Grace Barter is someone who I will never doubt.  Ever.  She's going to be one of the people who I cannot wait to see in 10 or so years from now because I know that whatever she wants to do, she'll be successful.  She was our team "Mom", and gave everything to the sport.  I'm most proud not of her running success, but more of how she inspired others and gave endlessy to the cause of our self-funded indoor team. Grace set up numerous fund-raisers and was consistently an athlete whom I trusted more than any other to get the rest of the team together to organize certain meetings and fundraisers.  The fact that she worked so hard on and off the track made it that much more special for Coach Lavers and I to celebrate her success of qualifying for the state meet in the spring, which had been a long time goal of hers. Her patience, understanding and genuine kindness makes her a very special athlete." Coach Infascelli

 

 What do you enjoy doing outside of your running?

Going the beach, being with friends and family, cooking, baking, and trying new foods, working at Momo's.
 

What are you going to miss most about your high school running career?

The teammates and coaches that I will be leaving. The group of girls that I ran with everyday became some of my best friends and I will miss having fun with them and the shared experience of running and racing. 
 

What was your most memorable race?

I have two, both from my senior year in spring track. The first was our last duel meet and I was trying to qualify in the two mile. Two of my teammates ran the race with me to help pace me and keep me going. The rest of the team and my two coaches were cheering and yelling the whole time, I felt like I was in a professional race. The second one was at The Last Chance meet where one of my best friends and I ran the two mile together. Everything felt right and I ran the hardest I think I have, we both qualified together for DIII's. At that moment everything I have trained for in the past two years finally paid off and I felt so accomplished.
 

Out of all your high school running accomplishments, what stands out the most?

Qualifying in my senior year was huge, but also being captain of our XC and track teams was a huge accomplishment. I was able to help others and give advice but it also connected me even more to the team. 
 

What was the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?

I trained extremely hard the summer before senior year and I never had a really great race that season. I kept training really hard and it never seemed to pay off, so that was really frustrating. But the last season I could see a difference and I think I became more mentally dedicated and was able to break through my limits. 
 

Do you have any advice for younger runners?

You'll always regret a run you skip more than you regret a run you do. If you train everyday and always give your full effort you will see improvement. Be patient and know that eventually your hard work will pay off if you really want it to. 
 

If you were to change anything about your high school running career.....what would you change?

I wish I took more risks and wasn't afraid to go out too fast or too hard because you never know, maybe you could be able to keep that pace. I'm beginning to realize this now and I hope that opens more doors for my racing. 
 

What are your college plans?

I'm going to Ursinus College in PA. It's division three and I plan on running all three seasons. I'm undecided in a major for right now, so I am going to try a little bit of everything and see what I like. 
 

Who would you like to say thank you to?

Definitely my parents, for coming to all my meets and cheering me on. Especially my dad who I know misses running but used all his knowledge to try to help me achieve whatever I wanted. I'd also like to thank my coaches,  who never gave up on me and knew I could do it all along, we just had to wait until the right moment.

 

 

GRACE BARTER'S PROFILE