School: Quakertown
Track & Field
Favorite athlete: Sanya Richards
Favorite team: Team USA
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning states in the 400 two years in a row
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: I went to get a drink from one of the water tanks that squirts into your mouth and squirt it directly into my mouth right before my 400 race.
Music on iPod: Rihanna
Future plans: Attend college at Michigan State where I’ll also be competing in track and field
Words to live by: "Amateurs practice until they get it right. Professionals practice until they can’t get it wrong."
One goal before turning 30: Become a professional runner
One thing people don’t know about me: I love to sing.
By Alex Frazier
In track, speed counts.
So does character.
Quakertown’s Alicia Evans is one of those rare athletes that combines the best of both.
Last year Evans won the state championship in the 400 meters.
That’s a tough act to follow.
“That’s a lot of pressure after winning states your junior year,” said Quakertown girls’ track coach Jason Anderson. “I’ve been impressed with how she’s been able to keep moving forward.”
“It’s actually been stressful because everyone expects you to win again,” admitted Evans. “But I can also use it as fuel to say well, I definitely will win it again this year.”
Evans was true to her word, capturing the gold medal in the 400 at this weekend’s state competition with a time of 55.02.
“Honestly, there wasn’t so much pressure once I got on the starting line for the 400,” she said. “It’s my senior year. I just wanted to have fun with it and at least get a PR for myself.
“I was excited. It’s a great way to end my senior year.”
That being said, anything less than a gold medal would have been unacceptable for Evans.
“I kept telling myself, ‘No one can beat you. You know what time you do, and you know what time these girls run, and they would have to work to beat you,’” the Quakertown senior said. “My dad kept telling me that too. It was a good race.”
In addition to attaining a new PR in the 400, Evans also finished fourth in the 200 with a time of 25.50. Last year, she opted to not compete in that event at states.
“I wasn’t so worried about the 200,” she said. “I actually thought it was going to be a little bit too much for me, and I was debating whether or not I should scratch it, but I still felt like I had unfinished business in the 200.
“I figured I would do it and get through and see what happened. I was a little disappointed with my time, but it’s okay.”
Evans’ state gold medal performance came on the heels of a district championship effort in the 400 the preceding weekend with a time of 55.18. She followed that up with a silver medal in the 200 (25.10) and a third place in the 4x100 relay.
“She’s in good shape right now,” said Anderson.
Ironically, Evans wanted to focus on the 200 last year, but after the Penn Relays, Anderson told her she was going to be a 400 runner.
“I’m not happy that I won states,” she said. “I mean I’m a little bit happy, but I’m not satisfied. Last year I just got put in the 400, so it’s not like I wanted to run it.”
She could have relieved some of the stress this year by focusing just on the 200, but she decided to stay with the 400.
“Last year I felt it wasn’t my choice to run it,” she said. “This year it is my choice to run it, so I’m definitely going to stick with it.”
What may have made her quest even tougher was that she didn’t compete in three events in Shippensburg, which isn’t unusual for her, but nevertheless challenging.
Last year she ran the 400, the 4x100 relay and the 4x400 relay. She scratched from the 100 and 200, which she also qualified for.
This year, besides the 400, she also ran the 200 and anchored the 4x100 relay.
When you consider prelims, semifinals and finals in three races, that could add up to a potential eight or nine races.
“She could have said, ‘No,’” said Anderson.
Evans has also run winter track since her sophomore year.
Ironically, it isn’t her favorite sport.
“I absolutely cannot stand it,” she said. “It’s just mental for me. I’d rather be outside.”
She admits that her attitude may have contributed to a disappointing conclusion to her indoor career this year. Though she qualified for states in the 200, 400 and 2x400 relay, she finished fourth in the 200 and, for her, a dismal sixth in her specialty 400.
“It was a terrible feeling,” she said.
As good a runner as Evans is, you wouldn’t know it by her demeanor.
“She’s not in any way in your face about how good she is,” said Anderson.
Which leads to the character part.
Anderson said that Evans is one of the most caring and conscientious athletes he has coached. In the Panthers’ dual meet against C.B. East, one of the Patriot runners pulled up in the 200 with a hamstring injury.
Evans wasn’t aware of it until she crossed the finish line and heard the crowd gasp. Immediately, she and her sister Jody Ann ran over to the fallen runner.
“We rushed up to her to see if she was OK,” said Evans. “We didn’t want to touch her or move her, so we asked her if she was fine, if she needed ice or anything.”
Her caring and generosity prompted an e-mail to Anderson from the runner’s mother saying in part, “I have to tell you how touched and impressed I was that two of your runners in the race were the first ones to come over to check on her and offer assistance. Their genuine concern and true sportsmanship transcended any school rivalry that one might expect.”
Evans is a captain of the team.
“It’s fun,” she said. “It’s a little hard at times, but all the girls are great. They’re helpful and they’re very supportive too. I’m not consistently down their throats, telling them everything. Usually they’ll come to you and ask you for help if they need it.”
Usually a captain either leads by example or is a vocal leader. Rarely do you find one that combines the best of both, but that’s just what Evans does.
“It’s been nice to have someone that is conscientious and takes sportsmanship pretty seriously as far as congratulating other girls,” said Anderson.
While track tends to be an individual sport, it can also be team oriented. Evans is an extremely good individual runner, but she is also an excellent team runner.
It’s no coincidence that Evans’ 4x100 relay earned a berth in states. She not only anchors the relay but also is the glue that sticks them together.
“It’s nice she has the team aspect as well,” said Anderson. “Sometimes you get an individual competitor that just wants to worry about themselves. She has her own success, but she’s helped a number of girls now get to states via the relay.”
Her sophomore sister Jody Ann is one of the relay members. She has been nursing a hamstring pull, and older sister has been very supportive, giving her massages.
The two siblings are very close even though they have the usual share of disagreements.
“I love having her on the team,” said Evans. “She’s funny and very energetic and an amazing runner too. We push each other.”
While Jody Ann whips Alicia in the 100, Alicia gets her back in the 200. Jody Ann has “retired” from the 400.
“It’s nice to see that with the sisters,” said Anderson.
One thing you can always count on from Evans is a pleasant, positive attitude.
That is also reflected on Sundays when she volunteers at her church instructing young kids about the Bible.
“She’s very congenial,” said Anderson, who noted that she greets everyone with a friendly ‘Hi.’
Next year, Evans will continue her running at Michigan State, where she earned a scholarship.
After districts last year, Anderson received a phone call from the Michigan State coach and Evans accepted the invitation.
“There was always something I liked about it,” she said.
She chose Michigan State over numerous other schools that wanted her, including Georgetown, Tennessee, Iowa and Kentucky.
She has yet to visit the East Lansing campus but plans to do so after states.
Evans plans on majoring in advertising, a career she decided on in part from a business course she’s taking at Quakertown.
After states, Evans won’t be taking much time off. She plans to run the 400 at nationals in June, and then it’s get ready for Division One track.
Talk about pressure.
