From Nola.com: Mackie’s diagnosis and training made a critical difference to Gabrielle Jennings
At just 14 years old, Jennings has established herself as the top cross-country runner in the state.
She has never lost a cross-country meet in Louisiana, she can tell you without missing a beat that she currently owns 24 state titles in both cross-country and track and field, and she has dominated the sport since 2008 when she won her first high school cross-country title… as a fifth grader.
The sophomore is a defending champ, but her freshman year was the most trying of her young career due to a hip condition that proved tricky to diagnose. But the office of Metairie-based fitness specialist Mackie Shilstone isolated a muscle-ratio difference between Jennings’ right hip and glute that made her “feel horrible, like I couldn’t do anything. It would feel uneven.”
First Baptist Christian coach and Gabrielle’s father Todd Jennings worried that his daughter may have an issue with her IT band, a common and occasionally debilitating injury for runners.
But after a series of training sessions, Jennings pronounced herself pain-free.
“I can feel that powerful stride,” she said. “Everything’s in place and perfect.”
Link: Now healthy, First Baptist Christians Gabrielle Jennings expected to dominate cross-country field – NOLA.com.
