WHS's Over Makes Her Mark On National Stage With All-American Season

Windsor High's Sydnee Over has recorded one of the most significant individual seasons in recent Warriors track history. Having turned in the sixth fastest time in the nation in the 400 meter dash this season, Over continued to make her mark over the weekend, earning fourth place at the National Championships in North Carolina and earning All-America status.

It's an accomplishment to be applauded and celebrated, but for Over, just a sophomore, the journey has just begun.

Her successes may have uncovered a glass-half-empty or half-full quandary, as she is a top-notch runner on the national stage while remaining the second-fastest sophomore in the one-lap race along Connecticut's I-91 corridor — the result of a growing rivalry with Hillhouse - New Haven's Precious Holmes.

“Every time we raced this year, she beat me,” Over said. “But last year, every time we raced I beat her. I guess you could say we’re even.”

When Over has come in second to Holmes, it has been by the slightest of margins: 0.02 seconds at the 40th Lindy Remigino Invitiational on May 7; 0.46 seconds at the State Open on June 6; 0.43 seconds at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals on Saturday in Greensboro, NC.

Track athletes have but one mission: to do the best they can because they have no control over what the competition can run, throw or jump. The fact that one of a handful of girls in the United States that has a run faster than her this season lives withing 50 miles is mere coincidence, and it may prove to be beneficial.

Losing to Holmes head-to-head three times this season simply provides her with the motivation to improve during the last two years of her high school career. Simply put, running against Holmes brings out the best in Over, and vice versa.

History tells us that there are plenty of thrilling races to be run for both athletes, with many wins for Over. But Over does not let her matchups against Holmes weight too heavily on her shoulders.She’s got so much more going on, on and off the track, to let that affect her.

After all, Over is an All-American, having placed in the top six at the Nationals. She finished third in the championship heat on Saturday, in 53.69 seconds, and fourth overall. Over’s 53.62 at the State Open is the sixth fastest time in America in 2011.

Away from the track, Over maintains a 3.7 grade point average as an honors student and is considering educational paths that would lead to a career in medicine.

Her future is bright, and not just in the 400.

Over is not a year-round runner. She was the starting center for the Warriors’ girls basketball team that went 11-10, which she led to an appearance in the Class L tournament. She averaged 4.1 points per game and a team-leading 6.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots. In the fall, she was Windsor’s top finisher on the cross country team. Over placed sixth of 42 runners in the CCC North Championship meet, placing 12th of 170 overall in the conference competition. She was 14th of 135 runners at the Class L championships and finished 80th out of 188 at the State Open.

In fact, it's her potential in mid-distance races, specifically the 800 meter run, is what peaks the attention of many, including Windsor girls track coach Ron Wilson. After careful consideration, he agreed that ultimately her future might lie within the 800 and not the 400. “Sydnee will be a great 400 runner,” Wilson said. “But she will be outstanding in the 800. There are people in the 400 who are better than her in a sprint, but I doubt there are any 800 runners who can beat her in a sprint. When it comes down to toughness, no one is tougher than Sydnee. I doubt there’s anyone who could beat her in the 800. I think she will compete for a national championship in two events.”

Over will represent Windsor in the 800 at the 2011 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, OR next week. She is seeded 11th (2:09.77) among 30 entrants from the second fastest time nationwide by a sophomore in 2011. Sixteen runners are in college and three are with track clubs. Over has the 23rd fastest time in the nation. During the season, she also ran the 200, wining at the 80th Greater Hartford Invitational May 14 at Simsbury. It is unlikely there’d be an event in which she couldn’t succeed.

Her season will officially end following the Eugene, OR meet, and no matter how she does, both Over and Wilson are satisfied with how things turned out this season. Expectations were high.

“I’m real happy with it,” Over said from North Carolina after temporarily misplacing her fourth-place medal. “My goal was to get in the 53s, a 53.9 or 53.8, if I was lucky,” Over said. “I never would have imagined a 53.6 at the end of the season. If someone would have told me before the season that I’d run that, I would have laughed in their face and not thought it was possible.

“Obviously I’m disappointed I couldn’t defend the 400 [in 2011] that I had won at the State Open last year, but I’m proud of the season. I had some good accomplishments.”

“She had a great season,” Wilson said. “She’s only a tenth grader, she’s only going to get better. I think her 800 will be better than her 400. I don’t know what she can run [in the 800] – maybe 2:05, 2:06, no doubt.”