Athlete: Hannah DeBalsi
Year: Sophomore
School: Staples High School
Location: Westport, CT
1600m PR: 4:52.57
3200m PR: 10:10.26
2-mile PR: 10:12.95
Hannah DeBalsi of Connecticut, who shattered the girls’ national indoor sophomore record for 2 miles on March 1, will run the event again this weekend at New Balance Nationals at the New York Armory. Even though DeBalsi’s record time, 10:12.95, is the fastest in the country, she should get plenty of competition from her Foot Locker cross country rival from Pennsylvania, Tessa Barrett. Last December in San Diego, Barrett won the Foot Locker national title with DeBalsi taking second. An exciting rematch is on tap for Sunday.
Two-Mile Toss-up: On the same day that DeBalsi was running her record time to win the New England Championships 2-mile by 40 seconds in Boston, Barrett, an Abington Heights senior, was winning the Pennsylvania state 3,000 meters by 20 seconds in a meet record 9:36.45. That time is roughly equivalent to a 10:15 2-mile. Other national 2-mile contenders include Millrose Games mile champion Caroline Alcorta of Virginia and Michigan junior Audrey Belf, the former sophomore record-holder with her 10:22.46 from last year.
Big Weekend: Both DeBalsi and Barrett will first compete on Friday, the opening day of the three-day meet. DeBalsi will run the anchor 1600m on the Staples distance medley relay. Last June, the Wreckers took third at the national outdoor DMR as DeBalsi anchored in 4:48.67. Barrett, attempting a bold double, will run the 5,000m. Last year, she placed fourth in 16:42.99.
Smart Pacing: DeBalsi, who turned 16 on Feb. 25, was mildly disappointed with her New England time. “You can never be upset with a PR,” said DeBalsi, “but actually I was trying to go under 10:10.” Her mile splits were 5:05 and 5:07.
Fast Times: DeBalsi is not shy about going for time, and she’ll be making another try at sub-10:10 on Sunday. The first mile could go out in 5 minutes even. DeBalsi and Barrett got to know each other in San Diego, where Barrett ran 17:16 to win and DeBalsi was 10 seconds behind, on the hilly Balboa Park 5K course. “We have a similar competitive spirit,” said DeBalsi. “It’s easy to understand where our motivation comes from.”
Starting Out: After enjoying some local 5Ks in 20 to 21 minutes as an eighth-grader, DeBalsi went out for cross country at Staples and found she could keep up with the team’s top runners. Before long, she was ahead of them. That season, as a freshman, DeBalsi placed 16th DeBalsi Tackles the 2-Mile at Nationalsth DeBalsi Tackles the 2-Mile at Nationals.
Track Phenom: DeBalsi’s outstanding freshman cross country season was just a taste of what she would accomplish in track. Indoors, she won the state 3200m and New England 2-mile. Outdoors, she won the New England 3200m in 10:10.26, the fastest freshman time in the country and close to Jordan Hasay’s national freshman record of 10:07.56. DeBalsi also placed third in the national outdoor 2-mile in 10:16.20.
Training System: DeBalsi credits the Staples’ distance coaches, Malcolm Watson and Amanda Parrish, with bringing her along and keeping training fun. DeBalsi logs about 45 to 50 miles a week. Last fall, one of her key workouts was 6 x 600m on the track with a 400m jog. She started her 600s at 2:00 and worked down to 1:45.
Hard Drive: “Hannah is so motivated and driven it’s hard holding her back,” said Watson. “On recovery days she complains that the pace is too slow or the run too short.” In races, DeBalsi counters her youthful exuberance with a more seasoned style. “She is able to bide her time and run like a tactician twice her age,” Watson said.
Major Titles: So far, DeBalsi has collected four state titles and four New England titles in track and cross country. To try and start her nationals’ collection on Sunday, DeBalsi has been working on “floating speed and pace changing intervals,” said Watson, “to make 74-second quarter pace feel as smooth as possible.”
Sub-10:00: If DeBalsi can split 74s all the way, she would be the first sophomore girl to run a sub-10:00 2-mile, indoors or outdoors. “Hannah has been itching for some more finishing speed,” said Watson, “so we have a top secret class of new workouts called ‘inceptions.’”
Black Belt: DeBalsi participated in taekwondo from first grade through eighth grade. She earned a second-degree black belt and believes that the discipline and mental toughness from the martial art has carried over to her running.
Animal Instincts: Like many girls at her level, DeBalsi runs with the Staples boys’ squad—which has had its own stars like Henry Wynne, last year’s national indoor and outdoor mile champion, now at Virginia. The current Staples boys’ team has, shall we say, an evolving personality. DeBalsi says that in workouts the boys “make animal noises at me.” Animal noises? “They do a lot of hissing,” she said. How does DeBalsi respond? “I hiss back,” she said.
Marc Bloom’s high school cross-country rankings have played an influential role in the sport for more than 20 years and led to the creation of many major events, including Nike Cross Nationals and the Great American Cross Country Festival. He published his cross-country journal, Harrier, for more than two decades.
