Oct. 5, 2011
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By Jenna Marina
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - For many siblings, rivalry is inherent. But ask UCF cross country runner Jamie Perzanowski how it felt to beat her older sister in a race for the first time in the Knights' most recent outing, and the standout freshman just gives a shy smile, kicks at the dirt and demurely shrugs it off.
"We don't have sibling rivalry. Not at all," she said.
Perzanowski's hot start to her collegiate cross country career is owed in part to her older sister, Kelly, who runs for Florida Gulf Coast. Perzanowski comes from a family of runners. So when Perzanowski entered sixth grade, Kelly would let her younger sister tag along on her mile-long runs.
Perzanowski has emerged as UCF's top finisher in each of its three meets this season, including the Mountain Dew Invitational in Gainesville on Sept. 24 when she clocked in more than a full minute ahead of her older sister.
A year apart in age, the pair ran for the same high school team but in different events. The meet marked the first time the sisters were reunited in competition since Kelly went away to college.
"It was really exciting," Perzanowski said. "We had been looking forward to that since I decided to come here."
Perzanowski's decision to become a Knight is also due in part to Kelly. The sisters hail from small-town St. Clairsville, Ohio, near the West Virginia border. When Kelly was recruited by Florida Gulf Coast, Perzanowski decided that a year later, she would join her sister in Florida.
She was also as eager to leave the rural surroundings and cold weather as Coach Paul Brown was to have her run for the Knights.
Whether it is running workouts in the morning, lifting in the weight room or two-a-day practices, Perzanowski pushes herself every rep. Her work ethic sets the standard for the team.
"That's what I appreciate about her. It's not that she's just phenomenally talented while being a lazy person. She's talented while working hard," Brown said. "I think she's really motivated to be great. She shows it. She can hit every pace and time you tell her. Even on her bad days she still does pretty well. We've been running here for 6-7 weeks and she's only had one OK workout. It's like, wow, you've got to be kidding me."
Perzanowski credits her early success to the running she did this summer. With nothing else to do to pass the time, she averaged 10 miles a day, six days a week before she moved to Florida. She said she has had little issue transitioning from Ohio's weather to Florida's climate.
"Sometimes I forget that I'm in a completely different state," Perzanowski said. "I think the biggest difference is just the transition from high school to college - the intensity. But I really like it."
This weekend, Perzanowski will reunite with her sister again at the Disney Cross Country Classic. True to her word, she said they haven't talked about one-upping each other - well almost.
"I told her to tell her team to watch out because they beat us by five points last time," she said with a smile.