METROPOLIS (WSIL) -- Massac County's Ansley Bailey is one of the top cross country runners in our area. She is committed to run at SIU. Says no way she changes her mind and she is looking forward to the day she can sign a scholarship with the Salukis. Now that there is fall sports, Ansley can focus on what she does best, that's run.
“Love running,� Bailey said. “To be outside in nature, get to look at God's creations when I'm running. It's just amazing.�
“I just got to go. I want to get first. Got to go, can't stop going.�
“Guts and glory, you know, can't stop, got to keep going forward.�
“Ansley is the type of runner that she's going to put in all the work that needs to be done, that is expected, plus a little bit more,� Massac County Cross Country Head Coach Cory Hastings said.
Ansley Bailey is a 3-time state qualifier in cross country. As a junior, Ansley was all-state, finishing in fourteenth place. As a senior she has lofty goals.
“To be undefeated,� Bailey said. “To get top five at state and keep my times to an 18, no higher than that.�
“The goals she has for the season, while they are high, they are most definitely in my opinion attainable goals with seeing what she was able to do last year and what’s coming this year with her training over the summer, her dedication to the sport is very, you can see that it’s there,� Hastings said.
The Patriots long distance runner takes her sport seriously. Her training goes beyond running.
“Work hard, eat good, stay positive while you do it,� Bailey said. “You can’t get so negative about yourself because it’s going to be hard keeping that time so low and if you do those things I think you’ll be good.�
“She not only talked about her running but she also talked about her nutrition, eating so she gets it,� Hasting said. “It’s not only the time spent on the track or out on the course, it’s also what you put in your body and dedication for that is not, it may be making some heard choices of not going out and hanging out with your friends. It’s maybe staying out with them a little while but then to come home early because you know you’re going to train Saturday morning.�
In the seventh grade, Ansley discovered competitive running. It didn’t take long for Ansley and her family to realize she could become a special runner.
“I knew she’d probably be good because she’s a hard worker,� Ansley’s mom Julie said. “She’d always at other sports, always gave 110 percent and so when she won her first race it kind of was in her blood I think. She loved it.�
As a family, the Bailey’s bought into their daughter’s commitment to running. They mowed a course throughout their property. In fact, the neighbors are supportive too. Part of Ansley’s running loop, reaches their property as well.
“It’s honestly special that my dad made the course so it’s more than just a course. My dad made it, so there’s a big meaning behind it,� Ansley Bailey said.
“Because we love her, we want the best for her,� Julie Bailey said. “If she’s going to work hard, we’re going to work hard. Ever since she’s been little, our other girls, we’ve tried, if it’s basketball or softball, we did whatever we could within our means to help them and that’s our way of helping her.�
The last stretch of Ansley’s home course is reminiscent of the course at the State Final Meet in Peoria. She visualizes winning state when she attacks the hill in her yard. The Massac County senior says her home course in instrumental in her training.
“It’s pretty amazing because it’s helped for the past years with all the other courses with hills,� Ansley Bailey said. “”It makes hills a flat surface.�
