BELLEVILLE – Jack Pifer, a senior distance runner on this year’s Edwardsville High boys track and field team, had a very good Saturday afternoon at the Norm Armstrong Invitational meet at Belleville West’s Bob Goalby Field.
Pifer was part of the 4×800-meter relay team that finished fifth with a time of 8:21.77, then finished second in the 1,600-meter run behind teammate Roland Prenzler with a time of 4:28.27.
“I was pretty happy with how I did,” Pifer said in an interview that followed the relay race. “I think – I’m not 100 percent sure – but I think I tied my (personal record), and the goal was to do that or even better. So, I’m glad that that happened. I think our team as a whole also did pretty well.”
And as the first month of the season approaches its end. Pifer thinks that he’s running really well for it being early in the season.
“I think I’ve been performing pretty well for being early in the season,” Pifer said. “I can definitely tell I’m well ahead of where I was last year, and I’ve been feeling pretty good in most of my races, so I’m happy with how it’s turned out so far.”
Pifer uses each of the major meets such as the Armstrong to measure his progress during the season.
“Yeah, this meet and some of the other big ones that we’ve had so far are definitely like a good benchmark for comparing to last year,” Pifer said, “this times and everything. So I’m glad that I’m able to run here and be able to quantify how much better I am from last year.”
At the start of the season, Pifer set some very high goals for himself in his races, and for the Tigers as a whole
“I’d like to think I set some pretty lofty goals for myself,” Pifer said. “I would like to be low 14s in the mile if that’s possible, and maybe dip under two in the 800 (meters) as well. And for the team, not my personal goals, but trying to get a few people to state in the distance events, for sure.”
And the key to all that is summed up in one sentence.
“We have to stay hopeful, and stay healthy,” Pifer said.
