Photo by Sam Chandler.
Mountain Brook High School senior Anna Balzli, left, is the top runner on a Spartan girls cross-country team aiming to recapture the Class 7A state title.
Anna Balzli has spent her last four years in the Mountain Brook cross-country program following in fast footsteps.
Frances Patrick, the 2015 Class 7A state champion, first set an example for Balzli to emulate in practice and in races. Anna Grace Morgan, the 2016 state champion, then accepted the leadership baton last season as Balzli trailed in her tracks.
“They kind of took me under their wing, and I was kind of always like the third person with them,” Balzli said, “so eventually after Frances left and after Anna Grace left, it was kind of like, ‘OK, now it’s just me.’”
The Mountain Brook High School junior hasn’t shied away in the wake of that realization, which took place after Morgan’s spring graduation. Instead, Balzli has stepped up to meet the challenge.
As the cross-country season has swung into full gear, Balzli has taken ownership of her new role as the top runner on a Spartan team that is seeking to reclaim its place atop the state standings. Last fall, Huntsville snapped Mountain Brook’s run of 13 consecutive titles.
“I feel like we have a lot more initiative, more umph, more motivation,” Balzli said of her team’s approach to the 2017 season. “I feel like there's a lot of potential.”
Mountain Brook head coach Michael McGovern foresaw this day coming, as he projected Balzli would eventually move into a particularly prominent role. He said Balzli’s talent has been evident since the seventh grade, when he first pulled her up to run with the varsity squad. She has since become a model of consistency. The past three seasons, Balzli has garnered All-State honors.
“She has a grit that I think she’s kind of earned over her years of being a part of varsity,” McGovern said. “She’s not one to back down, and I think that serves her well as a leader for this team. That’s the kind of attitude we like to pass on down to the younger kids.”
As she has transitioned into her front-running role, Balzli has consulted the mental notes she took while training alongside Patrick and Morgan. She remembers how they once pulled her along. Now, she’s trying to do the same.
The larger the pack she can help create, the better the Spartans will fare at the end of the season. “Now, I’m trying to get some girls to be with me and stay with me,” Balzli said, “because when there were three of us, it was really successful.”
Balzli’s preparation for the current season began over the summer, when she trained harder than ever before. She attended more team practices, logged more miles and allotted more time for self-maintenance activities like stretching and icing.
“I did all the extra little things,” she said.
The investment paid off in the season’s first meet.
Balzli opened her campaign with a ninth-place finish at the Chickasaw Trails Invitational in Oakville on Sept. 9, clocking a 5K time of 19 minutes, 20 seconds. It was more than a minute faster than she ran at the same competition last year.
Balzli called the mark a good starting point, and McGovern agreed. He said the race offered proof that his up-and-coming runner is ready to bloom. “This is definitely her time,” McGovern said. “She has seen how it’s done, and she knows what’s expected. She’s ready to handle it.”
