Carmel’s Paul is in the running

Updated: May 16, 2011 4:21PM

Carmel junior Megan Paul is well aware that in her sport, you can’t play defense.

As a result, as she begins final preparations this week to compete on Friday and Saturday at the state girls track meet at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, her goal is to run as fast as she can and let the order of finish take care of itself.

Smart decision because, as good a quarter-miler as Paul is, also in the 400-meter dash at EIU will be defending state-champion Raene Rhone from Young, who ran 55.52 to win the sectional, compared to Megan’s 57.8 (FYI: The best time run by any American woman at any level in 2011 is 50.5).

Paul won both the 400 and 200 at the Buffalo Grove Sectional last Friday, and it’s the third straight year that she’s qualified for state in both events.

The last two years, she passed on the 200 in order to run with her teammates in the 1,600 relay. That relay did not qualify this year.

“Mainly, I just want a good time, realistically and 54 or 55,” said Paul of her upcoming 400 performance at state. “That would probably put me in the top three, but there are a lot of good runners. If you come in fifth but you have a really good time, that’s still really good.

“I’ve run a 54. If I did it once, I can do it again.”

Time not withstanding, her coach at Carmel, Jim Halford, is thrilled she’s part of the team.

“Over the last couple years, anybody for Carmel who’s been Downstate, she’s been right there cheering them on,” the coach said. “She’s a complete team playe. There’s no ‘I’m better than everybody else’ in her, and that’s great in someone with her gifts.”

For her part, Paul has been gearing her season toward peaking at EIU this weekend.

“I’ve been working out a lot more this year. I’ve been lifting weights and trying to get my endurance up so I can sprint the last 100 (in the 400),” sh esaid. “I’m just hoping I peak this week. You want to run your best time at the state meet. If I do that, I’ll be happy.”

During the summer, Paul runs with the Illinois Elite AAU track team that’s based out of Frankort.

Though the times suggest otherwise, Halford thinks that the Hawthorn Woods resident might be better in the 200 than in the 400. “We think a lot about time,” he said. “The thing is, she may be better in the 200. That’s something we’ll take a look at.”

Megan does enter the state meet on a winning streak, as she won both the 200 and 400 races back to back in the East Suburban Catholic Conference meet and at the Buffalo Grove Sectional.

At the sectional, she coasted down the stretch in the 400 after building an insurmountable lead. But in the 200, she was forced to make up ground after an average start in a competitive race that saw six girls attain a state-qualifying time.

As for the future, the junior said she’ll worry about college later.

“I’ll starting thinking about colleges this summer,” she said. “Right now, I don’t want to get too wrapped up in that stuff. I figure it will stress me out. My focus is on running my best at state.”

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