- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,152,448
- Reaction score
- 59
SATELLITE BEACH — Seventeen years from now, could Celina Coryell’s name still be etched in the Satellite High record books?
That’s how long the school’s previous 1,600-meter record stood until Coryell shattered it on March 28 at the FSU Relays in Tallahassee.
The day before, she beat her own 3,200-meter school record while also setting a new Cape Coast Conference record at those same FSU Relays.
“It's so cool that it happened 17 years ago and I'm 17 years old,” Coryell said. “It's been my goal of high school to leave breaking that record.”
The previous 1,600 record of 4 minutes, 56.9 seconds was set by Ashley Shiver in 2009. Coryell’s official time was 4:55.42, more than a full second quicker. She finished fourth overall at FSU in the 1,600.
As for the 3,200, the new time to beat for all Brevard County athletes is 10:30.0.
“I definitely surprised myself. I talked to my coach before, and we just knew I wanted to go through the mile at 5:15, and then see what I could do after that, and that's exactly what happened,” she said. “I think I went through the mile at 5:16 and closed at 5:14. So it was perfect.”
Coryell finished fifth at FSU in the 3,200.
Coryell, a senior, started running at Satellite high school during her sophomore season. Prior to that, she was at Viera High, but grew up doing fun runs and 5Ks at an earlier age.
Satellite coach Doug Butler, who has coached some 24 individual and team state championships across cross country and track throughout his career, couldn’t have predicted Coryell would be breaking county records when he first started coaching her, but he saw the qualities of someone who could.
“If you would have told me her sophomore year that she was gonna run 10:30, I would have highly doubted that,” Butler said. “She's just kind of had gradual progression each year. She just has got a great work ethic.
“The year-round work that she puts in, her progression's been phenomenal. I think she's just gonna continue to keep progressing the way she does. She's got a real strong desire and an intrinsic work ethic that you can't coach. You just have to have it.”
Coryell’s next step will be to run for the University of Alabama. She made a visit in the fall and Nick Stenuf, the assistant coach for distance and cross country for the Crimson Tide women's track and field team, made a great impression.
“My visit was amazing. Coach Nick was so, so nice, and just made me feel really important and I wanted to be there,” she said. “I loved the campus and the team, and the facilities, everything is great there.”
Coryell is a testament to the hard work and dedication it takes to be a top athlete.
On the day of this interview, she spoke at 7:15 a.m. after completing a grueling sprint workout on the Satellite High track, surrounded by all her teammates.
Is she one of those people who can just pop out of bed and get going?
“No, I don't think anyone pops out of bed ready to go, but it's just something I love and something I work for every day and I remind myself that when days are hard, I just remember what my goal is and that no one's making me do this,” she said. “I want to be here, and I'm doing this because I want to get better.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Satellite runner Celina Coryell breaks records at FSU Invitational
Continue reading...
That’s how long the school’s previous 1,600-meter record stood until Coryell shattered it on March 28 at the FSU Relays in Tallahassee.
The day before, she beat her own 3,200-meter school record while also setting a new Cape Coast Conference record at those same FSU Relays.
“It's so cool that it happened 17 years ago and I'm 17 years old,” Coryell said. “It's been my goal of high school to leave breaking that record.”
The previous 1,600 record of 4 minutes, 56.9 seconds was set by Ashley Shiver in 2009. Coryell’s official time was 4:55.42, more than a full second quicker. She finished fourth overall at FSU in the 1,600.
As for the 3,200, the new time to beat for all Brevard County athletes is 10:30.0.
“I definitely surprised myself. I talked to my coach before, and we just knew I wanted to go through the mile at 5:15, and then see what I could do after that, and that's exactly what happened,” she said. “I think I went through the mile at 5:16 and closed at 5:14. So it was perfect.”
Coryell finished fifth at FSU in the 3,200.
You must be registered for see images
Coryell, a senior, started running at Satellite high school during her sophomore season. Prior to that, she was at Viera High, but grew up doing fun runs and 5Ks at an earlier age.
Satellite coach Doug Butler, who has coached some 24 individual and team state championships across cross country and track throughout his career, couldn’t have predicted Coryell would be breaking county records when he first started coaching her, but he saw the qualities of someone who could.
“If you would have told me her sophomore year that she was gonna run 10:30, I would have highly doubted that,” Butler said. “She's just kind of had gradual progression each year. She just has got a great work ethic.
“The year-round work that she puts in, her progression's been phenomenal. I think she's just gonna continue to keep progressing the way she does. She's got a real strong desire and an intrinsic work ethic that you can't coach. You just have to have it.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Coryell’s next step will be to run for the University of Alabama. She made a visit in the fall and Nick Stenuf, the assistant coach for distance and cross country for the Crimson Tide women's track and field team, made a great impression.
“My visit was amazing. Coach Nick was so, so nice, and just made me feel really important and I wanted to be there,” she said. “I loved the campus and the team, and the facilities, everything is great there.”
Coryell is a testament to the hard work and dedication it takes to be a top athlete.
On the day of this interview, she spoke at 7:15 a.m. after completing a grueling sprint workout on the Satellite High track, surrounded by all her teammates.
Is she one of those people who can just pop out of bed and get going?
“No, I don't think anyone pops out of bed ready to go, but it's just something I love and something I work for every day and I remind myself that when days are hard, I just remember what my goal is and that no one's making me do this,” she said. “I want to be here, and I'm doing this because I want to get better.”
You must be registered for see images attach
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Satellite runner Celina Coryell breaks records at FSU Invitational
Continue reading...
