Parkers Chapel didn’t have a cross country meet scheduled on Saturday. That didn’t stop Ali Looney from competing in the Hamburg Invitational, where she finished second in the senior girls’ division.
The junior registered for the event on her own. Finally healthy, Looney doesn’t have many off-days penciled in on her calendar as she prepares for the most important stretch of the season.
“I’m not trying to take many weekends off from running so I can stay competitive until state,” she said. “I missed the end of my softball and track season, breaking my foot and then I couldn’t run or do anything athletic for five weeks. I had type A and B flu the second week of school so that was a week I couldn’t train.
“I’m in the best shape I’ve been in, but I don’t think I’ve peaked this season.”
This season, Looney finished second at the Hamburg Invitational, second at the Moro Bay Invitational and fifth at the Warrior Invitational. She said her finishing time on Saturday wasn’t her best. But, just competing should add a bit of edge to her training.
“Overall the times weren’t that fast today because we ran last and it was very hot,” she said. “My time wasn’t that great, but I’m pleased with finishing 2nd place. I’m ready for cooler weather.”
Looney, who earned All-State in cross country last year, admitted to having a change of attitude. In the past, running cross country was more of a training tool to prepare her for basketball.
It means a lot more to her now.
“I’ve been thinking about trying to run in college, so I have been taking it more seriously than in the past years,” she explained. “This season I’ve been running six days of the week, while in the past seasons I’ve kind of used the cross country meets to get in shape.”
Perhaps another reason Looney has decided not to miss a competition could be the injury she mentioned. She broke her foot while pole vaulting in the district track meet in the spring. The injury forced her to sit out Parkers Chapel’s softball postseason as well as the state track meet.
“It was tough not being able to finish the softball and track seasons, and it was hard having to just watch my teammates play. I cheered them on and wanted them to be successful, but I wanted so badly to be competing with them. I think not being able to play motivated me even more to want to be better,” said Looney, who still had a solid summer of work.
“I went to a cross country camp at the University of Arkansas and it helped me a lot on how to train and eat properly. While in Fayetteville for the U of A cross country camp, I was able to get private pole vaulting lessons with (Olympians) Tori Hoggard and Lexi Jacobus. I would like to continue pole vaulting and plan to get lessons after tennis season. I also went to team basketball camps and a camp at LA Tech.”
Looney said she also started lifting weights 3-to-4 days a week over the summer.
“I have continued that this fall with our school program and feel like it's helped a lot.”
Looney, a defending state tennis champion in doubles, also plays basketball and softball for the Lady Trojans. She’s made a career out of competing year-round in whatever sport is in season at the time.
Even one weekend of inactivity, it would seem, would be time not well spent. Next Saturday, she will join the rest of her team in the El Dorado Wildcat Invitational.