Vaughn Visualizes the Win Before the Race
9/24/2008 12:00:00 AM
Sept. 24, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - For the second straight season, the women's cross country team is being led by a freshman. This year Sara Vaughn has stepped up and taken on the role at both races the team has competed in so far.
Vaughn placed second in her first collegiate race at the Belmont Opener 4k. She toed the line two weeks later at the Crimson Classic where she grabbed her first collegiate victory in cross country covering the 5,000 meter course in a SEC league leading time of 17:17.95.
"I was really happy with my first race at Belmont," Vaughn said. "I really enjoyed running in front of the home crowd. It's still kind of unreal!"
Vaughn started running and when she was just 10 years old with her dad. She enjoys a challenging course as well so that she can prove her strength over the other runners.
"I started running with my dad to stay in shape for soccer," Vaughn said. "He would take me to races and run beside me and we always had a great time together so I just fell in love with the sport."
Vaughn came to The University of Alabama from Tulsa, Okla. When she made her visit to the campus, the atmosphere here really helped her to decide this was the place for her. She also felt a strong bond with the coaches and other athletes on the team.
Her goals are simple for her season this year. They are to get stronger and have fun while hopefully having the team stay healthy and fit.
"My personal goal is to improve on my times from high school," Vaughn said. "As a team, we would like to improve and build upon what was accomplished last year."
Vaughn is a runner who likes to visualize a race before it has been run and listen to upbeat music to get ready for the race.
Vaughn is either listening to the right music or visualizing wins in her head before races. She will race again on Sept. 27 at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational in Chicago, Ill.
