It also marked the third year in a row that she has come away from the meet held at Eddie Smith Fieldhouse on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill with a state title.
The Patriot girls’ and boys’ 3,200-meter relay teams were unsuccessful in their bids to repeat as state champions, both finishing in second place. Jed Black had the best individual finish for the Patriot boys as he came in third in the 1,000 meter run.
Fields knocked on the door in the 1,000 finishing second in her freshman and junior years and third as a sophomore. She won an indoor title in the 1,600-meter as a sophomore and was a member of last year’s state championship 3,200 relay team.
Saturday’s time in the 1,000 of 3:01 was just a second off the mark she trained for.
“I ran a 3:06 last time and I broke the school record,” she said Monday during the first day of outdoor track practice at Pinecrest. “That was an incentive for me to do better. I did my speed work (training) at a three-minute pace and I hit 3:01. They didn’t have a clock so it was hard to tell what I was doing. I have a feeling that if there was a clock there, I would have really pushed hard to break three.”
Five trips around the 200-meter oval at 36 seconds a lap would give her the three-minute result she trained for. On various laps, she heard Patriot boys’ coach Larry Martin yell out 35, 37, then later 38.
“I thought, whoa, 38, I’m slowing down,” said Fields, who didn’t take the lead until the final lap. “I started picking up the pace. Coming into the last lap, I thought, okay I’ve done this before — I did it in the mile my sophomore year. I just held on during that last 200 and won. It was exciting, but I kind of knew I could do it.”
Martin thinks the 1,000 is tailored for Fields.
“Katie’s got a lot of speed and she’s got a lot of endurance too,” he said. “It’s a nice little niche for her. She really broke out there and gave an indication of the potential she has.”
Finishing second in 3:04 was Amanda Lapp of Southeast Raleigh which went on to win the girls’ team championship. The Patriot girls were ninth.
Pinecrest’s time in the 3,200 relay of 10:06 was four seconds behind first-place Southeast Raleigh. Fields anchored a unit that included Ann Fields, Lauren Bishop and Caitlin McArdle.
“If we work hard I think we have a really good shot outdoors,” Katie Fields said of the 3,200 relay team. “I know I can get my splits down and that will really help us.”
The boys’ competition was dominated by New Bern senior Karjuan Williams. He was the champion in the 300- and 500-meter runs in addition to running the anchor lap in the 1,600 and 3,200 relays won by New Bern. The Patriot quartet of Black, Andy Wacker, Jordan Rickard and Chase Williams was second in the 3,200 relay with a time of 8:16.
Karjuan Williams ended up in New Bern after he and his family were displaced from their home in New Orleans by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. At last summer’s Nike Outdoor Nationals, he had one of the best high school times of the year in the 800.
“We haven’t had too many performances like that at any North Carolina meet,” Martin said. “He came with credentials and he demonstrated that they were legitimate.”
New Bern and R.J. Reynolds finished in a tie for first in the boys’ team results. Also placing for sixth place Pinecrest were Wacker (fifth) and Rickard (eighth) in the 3,200-meter run.
Fields worked out almost every day of the week during January, including some Saturdays, in preparation for the state indoor championship. She credits Martin and Patriot girls’ coach Bill Bivans with helping her get into championship form.
Among her other accomplishments, she is a three-time conference runner of the year in cross country, a regional champion as a junior, was the girls’ conference track athlete of the year as a sophomore and has won regional track championships in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 relay.
Fields has doubled up the last three springs, competing in both track and soccer. She earned all-conference and all-region honors three times in soccer, and was one of the team’s leading goal scorers each year. This time around she is going to concentrate on track. She has acceptances from UNC and Wofford, and has received interest from the track coach at the latter school.
“I think outdoors will help me finalize my decision whether I want to run in college,” she said. “It’s been fun trying to do both of them with a little success in each. But I think I have a chance to do something really great outdoor.”
Martin calls the indoor season a bridge between cross country and outdoor track. He thinks the hard work Fields has been putting in is paying off for her.
“With her deciding to concentrate on outdoor track this year,” he said, “it’s going to be exciting to see what she can do in the distance and middle distance races.”
