Ever since freshman Tasha Greene arrived on the Harriton campus for cross country preseason on August 12^th she has proved time and again that she has more than a little talent. It was first apparent when she out-sprinted a member of the varsity cross country team when she was still on junior varsity. Perhaps her skill was truly first revealed when she placed 3^rd out of 159 girls in her second cross country race ever: a JV race on the challenging Belmont Plateau course. Ever since those two breakthroughs, Tasha has been on a roll. At the district cross country race, Tasha broke 20 minutes with a time of 19:59, a feat that, before this year, has only been accomplished twice in school history. Even her incredible cross country season, however, is incomparable to the track season she’s been having. She debuted in the 4x800m relay in December, in her first competitive 800m race. She ran the fastest time on the relay. A month later, she ran in her first competitive mile race ever. She placed fifth in a field of state-medalists and experienced upperclassmen, with a school record of 5:23.

She wouldn’t stop there. Two weeks later she came back to run the 800 meter run, this time placing fourth, even beating out a cross country national qualifier. She was 1.04 seconds away from the win, with another school record of 2:24. Two weeks later she came back to run in a 4x800m relay with teammates Remy Hill, and Maura and Jane Henderson. This time she ran 2:21, an unofficial school record (relay times can’t count for records), and again, the fastest time on her talented relay. She is currently ranked as the second fastest freshman in the state in the 800 meter, and the fourth fastest freshman in the state in the mile. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but the graduation of Max Norris may have come with the arrival of someone equally as talented. She’s headed to indoor states this February with her 4x800m team, and, depending on her performance this Friday goes, likely to run the mile as well. Read below to see an exclusive interview with the star who continually proves she means to rise to the top, and do so quickly.

The Banner: How does it feel to hold the school records for both the mile and the 800m as a freshman?

TG: It feels really great. I’m really happy about it. Cause I knew what the previous records were, so it was kind of like, when I was running the 800 and the mile, it was my goal to beat the records. So, it felt great to [beat them].

The Banner: Were you surprised?

TG: Um… (long pause)…I wasn’t that surprised because I’ve been working really hard to beat the records. And because my coach, Mr. Klick, believes in me, so I thought I could do it.

The Banner: What do you think about when you run in races/workouts?

TG: Races, I think about, like, being on the last lap and finishing, and how great it’s going to feel. That gets me through the tough part of the race, which is usually the middle part. And workouts, I think of how my hard work in practice is going to help me in the race.

The Banner: How has your team been influential to your success?

TG: So, honestly, without the people that are on the team I don’t think that I would have had the success I’ve had this season. Especially having my sister on the team [freshman, Siobhan] really helps to calm me down before races. And my entire 4×800 team really helps me get through workouts, and to not be nervous for races.

The Banner: Who has been your greatest mentor this year?

TG: Definitely my coaches have helped me so much: Coach Klick, Coach Oden, and Coach Samino. They really push me to go faster in workouts, and they help pace me for the races because they know I can run faster races. When they believe in me, they help me believe in myself and know that I can achieve success.

The Banner: What is your goal for the end of high school running-wise?

TG: Umm… Can I think about this? [Minute or two later] Over the next three years, a goal is definitely to be in, like, the top pack, and maybe medal at states. I mean, right now I’m not really there. But, I think over the next couple years, if I keep working hard and improving, I could achieve that. Well definitely this year, I want to go sub-5:20 and sub-2:20, and if not this year, then next year. By the end of high school, I want to get down to [a mile time] in the low 5 [minutes], and [an 800 time] in the low 2 [minutes].

The Banner: Do you have running-related dreams?

TG: I definitely want to run in college. Because… wait, why do I want to run in college? I don’t want to run in college! No… yes I do. I want to run in college.

The Banner: What college do you have in mind?

Friend: She’s a freshman, shut up!

TG: [Laughs] I just want to run in college, and keep improving, and I definitely want to run for the rest of my life.

The Banner: Any runners you admire?

TG: [Excitedly] OK, so I’m pretty much obsessed with a lot of professional runners. Which is like Mary Cain¹, because she’s young, but yet she’s so good, and she works so hard. Like, she’s only in high school and she went pro. That’s insane. And definitely Jordan Hasay², because she was a phenom when she was little, and she’s still amazing now; she’s perfect, and I want to be her!

The Banner: What is your favorite part about running?

TG: Um… My favorite part about running is having such an awesome team to run with. It would be miserable if I didn’t have everyone on the team to make it fun. My favorite part is also going on long runs, because they’re really good to just think, and talk to people, and they help you get better.

The Banner: What motivates you to train?

TG: What motivates me through a hard workout is how much it’s going to help me in the race, and help me improve. The reason I run on the weekends, even on days when we don’t have practice, or I miss practice, I’ll make sure I go run after just because, the more mileage and the more hard work I put in the better I’m going to do.

The Banner: Best non-running-related xc/track memory from this year?

TG: OK, so we were coming back from one of our late Friday-night track meets. And we were all very tired, and on the side of the highway the bus broke down. Normally, that’d be bad thing, but because I was with my team, and we all had so much energy, and it was 1 in the morning, we had a lot of fun. So that’s definitely my favorite memory.

Favorites-

Singer/band? Oh my god, this is hard! I don’t know.

School subject? History.

TV Show? Gossip Girl.

Workout? Oh my god, this is so hard…(pause) Mile repeats!

Food? Cheez-its!

Restaraunt? Parc.