Thacher's Hatch outruns 'em all
by Misty Volaski

Bessie Hatch doesn't toot her own horn. Then again, she doesn't have to - her accomplishments speak for themselves.
As the top cross country runner for Thacher, Hatch traveled to Fresno for the cross country state championships to battle for the Division V top spot.
It all began when sister Bridie - still a record-holder at Nordhoff for cross country - influenced Bessie to start running youth track. In junior high, Hatch made a name for herself as part of the first cross country team at Matilija.
By the time she got to high school, Hatch was hooked on running. As a freshman at Nordhoff, she was picked to be on the varsity cross country squad, where she ran "pretty well."
"I was really surprised. We made it to the league championship at Dunn. I ran a 17:34. I was completely surprised. It was kind of crazy. There's no obstacles. It's a flat (course) and you're supposed to run a minute faster on (flat courses)."
After that accomplishment, Hatch moved on in her sophomore year to Thacher, where she joined the cross country team there in her junior year after finishing Thacher's horseback riding requirements.
While in her junior year she didn't qualify for state - but was still No. 2 on the team - she said she really got pumped about her last season of high school cross country. And that caused her to push herself more than ever.
"Bessie has had a great season," said coach Theana Hancock. "She is self-motivated, and was always looking to improve. Bessie always ran more than was expected. She ran longer, harder and faster. She isn't egotistical. Bessie has worked very hard this season, and I am happy to see that her hard work paid off."
That payoff was first-place honors in the Division V state run with a time of 18:58. According to www.dyestatcal.com, Bessie won by a significant amount of time, consistently pulling at least a mile ahead of the pack.
"I didn't think I could make it (last year), but then I thought, maybe this year I could. So I got really motivated. I changed my mental attitude and I did it."

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

Back to sports

Back to the news