By Reece Pitlik

Junior Faith Anton is one of a select few students currently enrolled at Mount Vernon with a State Championship under her belt. In the 2015 State Track Meet, Anton helped lead Mount Vernon’s 4×400 and 4×800 groups to a State Championship, proving that she is one of the best runners in not only Mount Vernon, but the entire state of Iowa as well.

Anton has been running track since she was in 7th grade. She decided to go out for track so she could get into better physical shape and live a healthier lifestyle. “It wasn’t because I loved to run, but it turned into that,” she said. She competed in a range of events including long jump, the open 200, 400, and 800, sprint medley, distance medley, 4×400’s, and 4×800’s.

Last spring, Anton mainly ran 400’s and 800’s in a variety of meets, with 400’s being her favorite event. “It’s painful, but it’s so much fun to put yourself through that pain,” she said while describing why she loves 400’s. The thought and feeling of almost being done is what pushes her through that final turn and over the finish line.

At the state tournament in May, she teamed with Maren Jeppson(‘16), Maggie Davis(‘17), and Emma Cochrane(‘15) to win the 4×800.  Anton, Davis, and Cochrane, along with Libby Ryan(‘17) also won the 4×400. This was the last event of the 2015 State Track Meet. The win helped Mount Vernon capture 2nd place overall for the team at state.

Anton says that of the sports she plays, track is her favorite, even though at the beginning of the 2015 season she wasn’t necessarily sure if she wanted to go out. Anton and her friends decided to go out and her reason was because of her “fear of Willems,” the Mount Vernon girls track coach. She also said it was because she doesn’t like to give up, “I just can’t deal with that. I’d just be letting myself down.”

Not giving up was one of her biggest accomplishments in her running career, “Winning state is like icing on the cake.”

Anton is also a standout cross country runner for the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Girls Cross Country team. Anton started running long distances the summer before her 8th grade year, continuing her overall goal to get into better physical shape. That fall when school reconvened, she decided to try out for cross country as well as volleyball. Anton had to juggle these two sports around, and knew that in high school she would need to pick one or the other. In high school she chose cross country over volleyball. It definitely proved to be the right decision. Anton ran varsity both her freshman and sophomore years helping the team to back to back State Cross Country Meets in Fort Dodge. Anton’s freshman year the team placed fifth in the state, and her sophomore year they placed eighth.

Anton’s main goals for her team this year are to keep improving on times and qualify for state. In her most recent meet, the WaMaC Conference Meet in Independence, Anton came in fourth for Mount Vernon and the girls team placed third overall. They will compete in the state qualifier next week in Decorah.

Currently Anton does not have any plans on running in college. “I stress out enough as it is in high school, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like in college,” she said, “but I will really really miss it.” She has contemplated many times whether or not to run in college and says it is still something she needs to decide. However, Anton does plan to continue running, lifting, and staying in good shape throughout college and the rest of her life.

Encouraging people to run is very difficult because many people don’t necessarily enjoy it. Anton suggests that people should run or find other activities to stay in good physical shape because it will make you feel much better about yourself. Her running career started by trying to get into better shape and now she is a state champion in two events. Her suggestion is to not start out too hard or else you will hate it. “It’s gonna suck at first,” she said. But once you get more fit and work out for a while she says you will eventually like it. “Sometimes I still thinks it sucks, but you keep on going.”