Southeast Missourian girls cross country runner of the year: Jackson's Chelsea Drum

Chelsea Drum has competed in distance running since seventh grade, but it wasn't always her favorite sport.

"To be honest, I started it because I wanted to get in shape for soccer," the Jackson junior said. "When I came to high school, it wasn't until probably the end of my freshman year when I realized I could do pretty good. That was when I was all-state during my freshman year."

Since then, soccer has taken a back seat to cross country for Drum, who carried the load and paced the Indians in practice and in races this season. That's what makes her the Southeast Missourian girls runner of the year.

Drum led the Indians with seven top 10 finishes, including four first-place finishes this season.

She also made her third straight state meet appearance, where she finished with an all-state ninth-place time of 18 minutes, 39.53 seconds to help lead Jackson to an eighth-place finish in the girls team standings.

Drum is confident she's made the right choice to stick with cross country, but looking back, that choice wasn't always so easy.

"Freshman year I had to choose soccer or track, pick one or the other, and I chose track," Drum said. "Between the two, cross country is probably my favorite because I've done so well in it. I still have a goal of going to state in track, but it's just different because its shorter and you run in smaller circles. Both make me a better runner, so I'll continue to try and be good at both."

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Jackson cross country and track coach Andrea Talley said she was excited when Drum chose track over soccer. Not only because she would get to continue coaching Drum, but because track would only enhance her skills in cross country.

"Track and cross country kind of go hand in hand. There are plenty of athletes that go on and can excel at two sports, and I think that would have been the case for Chelsea as well with soccer," Talley said. "Track is just more intense for a longer period of time, so it will develop her more for cross country. She could still be pretty good. She could still be a top runner, but she may not get to the heights she's at if she had not run track."

Drum became an immediate cross country sensation in her first season with the Indians in 2012.

Talley said she noticed Drum's talent immediately.

"Right there, boom! She was No. 1 for us from the beginning, and she just kept growing," Talley said about Drum. "If you look at her, she's a really tall runner. You see all these tiny little girls, and then there's Chelsea, who just powers through everyone."

Drum was the only Jackson girls runner to advance to the state meet that season, and finished 18th with a time of 19:28.97.

In her sophomore season, Drum saw her times slip and said she could tell she wasn't at her best in practice or in meets.

"Sophomore year wasn't very good for me," Drum said. "That kind of helped push me to do preseason training and get better this year. I don't know why I didn't run very well that year. I honestly don't know."

The 2014 Semoball.com girls runner of the year made it to state for a second straight season, but her time was almost a whole minute behind her previous state finish. Drum finished 50th at 20:04.13.

Talley said Drum experienced a growth spurt between her freshman and sophomore seasons, which made it harder for her to increase her times on the course.

"Kids growing up, and especially as runners, they all mature at different rates," Talley said. "In junior high, you get these tiny stick girls, and by the time they hit high school everything changes. Chelsea came out as a freshman and was just immediately kind of the star. She pretty much exceeded her expectations. In 10th grade, she had grown a lot. I guess the best way I could explain it is, as your workouts and as your mileage increases, it kind of takes your body some time to catch up and get to that level, especially in girls.

"In her sophomore season, I think it was a big shock because her body had not caught up to the increase. *... Well, this year, she took an increase, and her body kind of caught up. Her body just fell right into that next level. I also think she put more into it this summer. Just with her training and what to expect, it was an easy transition."

Drum said adding more mileage and a difference in training regiments allowed her to improve into the best and most fit runner she's ever been.

"It was more mileage again because I went from 18th to 50th and now ninth, so it was kind of back and forth," Drum said. "This year we focused on trying to push each other in our speed workouts and all that kind of stuff, and a lot more core focus. Weightlifting wasn't new for us, but I guess I just maximized it this year."

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Drum was back at her best this season and not just individually. Jackson finished fourth in sectionals and advanced to the state meet as a team.

Jackson junior Carli Knott, who is also an All-Southeast Missourian selection, said Drum helped the Indians succeed this season because of the way she pushed her teammates.

In many of their races this season, the Indians top four runners -- Drum, Knott, Tayler Winick and Ana Compton -- would run as a pack at the front of the field.

Knott said the group pushed one another, which helped Jackson's overall team scores throughout the season.

"I think she really pushes me and Tayler and Ana because we usually ran back and forth. They were in front of me, or I was in front of them, but we were always chasing Chelsea," Knott said. "On workout days and even in races, Chelsea sets that top pace and we try to stay up by her. She's always pushing us to be better, so that really helps us. Even in state, I think we were successful because of her."

Drum said she had her best state finish this season because her entire team was running with her.

"In sectionals this year, I had six of the girls that I knew I was already going to be with at state. So I was really able to stay with them throughout the race. They took me there," Drum said. "I'd have to say state was the best part of the season, just because this year, having my team with me, was a lot less nerve-wracking. It's usually like me freaking out, but it just felt like a normal meet."

Settling nerves and getting prepared for a state course the rest of the Jackson runners had never seen was also something Drum handled with ease, according to Knott.

"We all pitch in, but when it comes down to calming us down, Chelsea leads us in that way," Knott said. "At state she was really serious and she helped us all. She's really a motivator on this team. Since some of us had never been there before, she helped us out with what was hard about the course and some of that stuff."

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Drum has hopes of returning to state in track during the upcoming spring season, but she's mainly focused on returning in cross country for her senior year both individually and as a team.

"Our entire varsity team is returning, except for Tayler," Drum said. "It's going to be hard losing her, but we're focused on hopefully returning to state because a lot of us have now been there and we think we know what it takes to get back there."

She still has some time to decide exactly what she wants to do after high school, but Drum said she's sure she wants to continue running in college. Wherever she chooses to go, she's mindful of improving as a runner every day.

"I have no idea where I want to go, but I definitely want to run in college, so I'm looking forward to that," Drum said. "I think I'll have to drop my times even more next year and place once again at state if I want to have that opportunity."