SE: Shufelberger Embracing Less Pressure, Different Expectations in Successful Start for K-State XC
Oct 16, 2019 | Cross Country, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
K-State cross country's Jaybe Shufelberger entered her freshman season with zero expectations, and she's loved every second of it.
She's relished focusing on the process, things like nutrition and effort, and not the result, such as times and placements. She's soaked up the lack of pressure that comes with a new level of running, a 180-degree change from a year ago at Washburn Rural High School when she won every race, most by a long shot, but one — the state championship, where she finished second.
Most of all, Shufelberger's said she's enjoying being just another runner.
"I honestly really am," said the 2018-19 Gatorade Kansas Girls Cross-Country Runner of the Year. "It's such a relief because, in high school, the pressure really got to me in some meets. It's nice not to have that pressure this year. I know there are still expectations, but it's just not as high as it was last year. I think that's definitely helping, not having to worry about that and just focusing on doing the best that I can."
So far, pretty good.
Shufelberger led K-State's women in both races she's competed in this season. Her latest performance, a 16th-place finish at the Joe Piane-Notre Dame Invitational, included a personal-best 5k time of 17:26.92. Among freshmen, she ran the second-fastest time at the meet.
"I didn't really have too high of expectations," she said, "because I didn't know how much of a transition it would be coming into my first year."
As K-State competes in the prestigious Under Armour Pre-Nationals Invitational on Saturday in Terre Haute, Indiana, Shufelberger still doesn't know what to expect. Mostly because it will be the first competitive 6k race of her career. She said that excites her more than any nerves it might bring, however.
"I'm pretty much just seeing what I can do, which is also a nice thing because we've been racing 5Ks, so it's still really comparable to high school," Shufelberger said. "So, I think it's really nice to do something new, where everything you do is a PR, and not really have what you did in high school stressing you out because you're, maybe, not hitting the same times or something like that.
"It's nice to be able to focus on something new."
As for Shufelberger's impressive start, she credited it to a lot of what hasn't changed.
Notably, her training block.
In high school, Shufelberger said she was on the "higher end of mileage" spectrum. She ran about 50 miles a week — not far from her top K-State training load — and she practiced with the Washburn Rural High School boys' team to push herself more.
"I knew I wanted to run in college, and it just kind of naturally built up to the higher mileage throughout my years. It wasn't necessarily building up because I wanted to run in college. It just kind of naturally happened, but it definitely helped," she said. "It wasn't too big of a transition coming into a new training plan. Just being able to build off of that really helped, being able to have that background in high school and, obviously, a PR is going to show that the hard work is paying off."
Which is part of why Shufelberger has not formulated much of any concrete goals for the rest of the season. She's not setting expectations, other than to trust the process that got her here.
"I'm not 100 percent sure because I still feel like it's not as big of a transition year as I thought it was going to be. I still don't quite have (ahold of) the ropes of things yet, so there's still a little bit of a learning curve," she said. "I think going out and doing the best that I can is enough for me, really, right now. Just because everything is so new this year that I'm not taking anything for granted."
K-State cross country's Jaybe Shufelberger entered her freshman season with zero expectations, and she's loved every second of it.
She's relished focusing on the process, things like nutrition and effort, and not the result, such as times and placements. She's soaked up the lack of pressure that comes with a new level of running, a 180-degree change from a year ago at Washburn Rural High School when she won every race, most by a long shot, but one — the state championship, where she finished second.
Most of all, Shufelberger's said she's enjoying being just another runner.
"I honestly really am," said the 2018-19 Gatorade Kansas Girls Cross-Country Runner of the Year. "It's such a relief because, in high school, the pressure really got to me in some meets. It's nice not to have that pressure this year. I know there are still expectations, but it's just not as high as it was last year. I think that's definitely helping, not having to worry about that and just focusing on doing the best that I can."
So far, pretty good.
Shufelberger led K-State's women in both races she's competed in this season. Her latest performance, a 16th-place finish at the Joe Piane-Notre Dame Invitational, included a personal-best 5k time of 17:26.92. Among freshmen, she ran the second-fastest time at the meet.
"I didn't really have too high of expectations," she said, "because I didn't know how much of a transition it would be coming into my first year."
As K-State competes in the prestigious Under Armour Pre-Nationals Invitational on Saturday in Terre Haute, Indiana, Shufelberger still doesn't know what to expect. Mostly because it will be the first competitive 6k race of her career. She said that excites her more than any nerves it might bring, however.
"I'm pretty much just seeing what I can do, which is also a nice thing because we've been racing 5Ks, so it's still really comparable to high school," Shufelberger said. "So, I think it's really nice to do something new, where everything you do is a PR, and not really have what you did in high school stressing you out because you're, maybe, not hitting the same times or something like that.
"It's nice to be able to focus on something new."
As for Shufelberger's impressive start, she credited it to a lot of what hasn't changed.
Notably, her training block.
In high school, Shufelberger said she was on the "higher end of mileage" spectrum. She ran about 50 miles a week — not far from her top K-State training load — and she practiced with the Washburn Rural High School boys' team to push herself more.
"I knew I wanted to run in college, and it just kind of naturally built up to the higher mileage throughout my years. It wasn't necessarily building up because I wanted to run in college. It just kind of naturally happened, but it definitely helped," she said. "It wasn't too big of a transition coming into a new training plan. Just being able to build off of that really helped, being able to have that background in high school and, obviously, a PR is going to show that the hard work is paying off."
Which is part of why Shufelberger has not formulated much of any concrete goals for the rest of the season. She's not setting expectations, other than to trust the process that got her here.
"I'm not 100 percent sure because I still feel like it's not as big of a transition year as I thought it was going to be. I still don't quite have (ahold of) the ropes of things yet, so there's still a little bit of a learning curve," she said. "I think going out and doing the best that I can is enough for me, really, right now. Just because everything is so new this year that I'm not taking anything for granted."
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
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