Marisa Black on Attack For Regionals
By Bobbi Floyd 4-30-14
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She doesn’t need the label. She is a leader without it. Marissa Black is one of Clark High Schools finest athletes. From being a cross country runner to a track hurdler, Marissa Black is one to talk about.
She is a junior here at Clark High School. Taking honors and advance placement classes. She is able to balance sports, academics and a social life all on one plate. When she goes home, she isn’t the typical kind of girl that would go and lie in the bed and tweet about her problems—instead she is the kind of girl that puts on some boots and goes outside to feed her lamb and see her farm animals.
“I live on a farm/ranch type of thing,” says Marissa Black. “We have sheep, lambs, cows, chickens and other animals. Once every year I take the lamb to the county fair to get it auctioned off.
Her school life makes her known. She is the only girl hurdler at Clark High School. She has a lot to prove.
“She is a competitor when I jump my hurdles as well,” says senior boy hurdler Nathaniel Tate. “Even if she is a girl, when we practice hurdles, I am able to learn from her.”
At Marissa’s first meet, she competed against girls from Moapa Valley, Cheyenne and Boulder City. She was able to come out and earn first place in her 100 meter hurdles with a time of 18.1.
“It was the first meet of my junior year,” says Marissa. “I was nervous. But when the man shot the gun, I just ran my race.”
Marissa Black trains hard. She pushes it through all the conditioning work outs that the coaches introduce to her.
Instead of producing her all in an individual race, Marissa also competes in relays. He is the third leg for the 4x200 meter run and sometimes runs anchor for the 4x400.
“I ran with Marissa for two years now and she has constantly got better throughout the years. We compete against each other sometimes and that only makes me better,” says junior Bobbi Floyd. “We both run the same relays together so we deal with one another a lot. She just motivates me.”
Marissa was able to qualify on her 100 meter hurdles at her first meet. She wasn’t able to PR yet but she was able to get first place over all.
“I have a lot of coaches to thank when it comes to my running. It was my first meet and I can only get better,” she says. “I am able to go to practice knowing I would get a good work out and push myself to get better.
Clark is cheering for you Marissa.
