By Sarah Gardner
Kassi Andersen may be a collegiate world record holder and two-time All-American, but her confident, cool exterior and strong performances do not effectively communicate what she feels within.
'It''s weird because lately, I''ve been noticing how nervous I get,' Andersen said. 'When I have to go running by myself, I''m just kind of like, ''Ooh, I don''t want to. I don''t want to. I''m scared'' because I expect a lot of myself.
'I don''t think you can avoid not being nervous because this is what I do. And maybe if I didn''t care so much, I wouldn''t get as nervous. This matters to me and it kind of defines me.'
The 2004 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships start today, and Andersen is ready to bring home a championship in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Preliminaries for the event are today, and the finals are on Friday.
Before she ever had to deal with the pressure that comes with being an All-American, Andersen can remember when running was brand new to her life.
When she was 15, Andersen, a Provo native, and her brother Jacob discovered that their father ran track in college. This knowledge sparked an interest in running for Jacob, but Andersen wanted nothing to do with it.
'By that time, I was a freshman,' she said. 'He was like, ''Your coming with me in the mornings to go run.'' And I was like, ''No!'' I hated it.
'We would go run early in the morning in the summer and I really didn''t like it, but I was good at it. I just stuck with it and I started beating him. By the end of the season, it was just kind of funny because Jacob did it for fun. But for me, I took it a little more serious and I thought I was good at this and I wanted this to be my thing.'
So her career as a track star began. During her time competing for Provo High School, Andersen won eight state championships in track, received the Wendy''s High School Heisman Award and was named the all-state athlete of the year four years in a row.
Her collegiate record is even more impressive. At the end of her sophomore year, Andersen found herself at the NCAA Championships with the expectation to win the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
'That season of track was nerve-racking,' Andersen said, 'because of the fact that coach, before I even ran in the steeplechase race, he was like, ''Your going to be an All-American record holder. You''re going to nationals. You''re gonna break the record. You''re gonna be amazing...''And this and that and I''m like, ''Aah, Don''t say any of that; I don''t want to know.''
Despite all of the pressure, Andersen focused and prepared for the race. She could only do her best.
'It all just came together all of a sudden,' she said. 'And I finished and I was like, ''That was easy.'' And I PRed and I broke the national record. And it just felt easier. It was pretty exciting and it was a lot of fun. I finished and it was like, ''Oh! Awesome! I broke the record.'''
Andersen was happy with her performance, but it wasn''t enough. She was excited to train and do even better this season.
'I think at that point, I was , but just for then,' Andersen said. 'I knew that the next year I would want to do a lot better. So you''re satisfied up to a point, but that doesn''t sustain you for very long. You''re like, ''OK, I''m ready for more.'''
In the middle of this year''s cross country season, an injury prevented her from competing for most of the season.
'I got injured because I was making wrong choices as far as health was going,' she said. 'I wasn''t taking care of my body very well. I got anemic, I got a low red blood cell count and I got really low on iron. I could just not run for the life of me.
Andersen sat out for most of the cross country season and wasn''t able to compete in the MWC championships. She was with coaches and doctors to regain her health.
'I was willing to do anything to come back, I wanted to come back.' Andersen said. 'Not for just myself, but because I wanted to help the team.'
Andersen worked to recover and returned just before the cross country regionals and nationals. After missing out on the entire season she was able to help the women''s cross country team to a second-place mark at the 2003 NCAA National Championship.
'She is incredibly talented,' women''s distance coach Patrick Shane said. 'She is ready to break the American record. If she chooses, she could make a wonderful living running the steeplechase when she is done with her eligibility. Next year will be the World Champion Event and it is a pretty big deal. It would be wonderful if she continues to train through 2008.'