Waccamaw’s Arnold finds gold in freshman season

Briley Arnold appreciated the struggle.

It made attaining the prize that much sweeter.

The Waccamaw freshman ran to a trio of gold medals at the Class AA state track and field meet this past spring, winning the 400-meter hurdles and competing as a member of the Warriors’ state champion 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter relay teams at Class AA state meet.

But it was what The Sun News’ Toast of the Coast Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year did at the end of practices that surprised first-year Waccamaw staff member Bill Peterman, who along with girls head coach Kipp Chrisner, worked with her.

“She’s one of those kids that at end of practice, she’d say ‘Thank you, Coach Peterman.’ That was the first time I’ve had someone thank me for putting them through a tough workout at practice,” Peterman said with a chuckle.

Arnold, who has competed for the high school squad since seventh grade, wound up winning her first career golds en route to helping the Warriors finish fifth in the state.

“It was really amazing because I kept saying that I could do my best and win, and the lord helped me so much with it,” she said. “I’m just so happy He let me do that.”

While practices were grueling, they also were a bit tricky for Arnold and her coaches. Being both a hurdler and mid-distance runner, Arnold had to compete with different groups at different times in practice.

“It’s kind of tough,” Peterman said. “The main thing with her is just focusing on what she needed [to work on.] She kind of worked with both of those groups exclusively, depending on the workout. … Some days she would work exclusively on hurdles. That’s hard on anybody from that standpoint.”

Arnold embraced the challenge.

“I like it better than doing just distance or speed because I like them both,” she said. “It like mixed it up a little.”

Arnold credits current and former teammates for showing her the ropes. Her sister, MacKenzie Arnold, is a runner at Francis Marion and she also has worked with Waccamaw alumna and Clemson runner Grace Barnett and current teammate and Toast of the Coast regular Amelia Jones.

“They just helped so much because they’re so inspirational,” Arnold said.

She is the latest of a strong stable of standout runners who have helped the Warriors to four straight top-10 finishes at state.

“It’s definitely a motivation factor,” Peterman said of Arnold looking up to the older runners who have had success. “Just trying to do what they’ve done or do better than they’ve done [helps]. It helps to keep track of that stuff. They come back and are around still. Being around those kids and communicating with them [helps]. Everybody is well aware of what’s been done and it keeps a buzz going around.”

Arnold said her next goal is to up her standing in the 100-meter hurdles and continue to work out and get stronger. While there could be more gold awaiting her in the future, she’s still waiting for her triumphant freshman season to settle in.

“It’s like so amazing I can’t believe it happened,” Arnold said.

This story was originally published June 25, 2015 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Waccamaw’s Arnold finds gold in freshman season."