For Anselmini, it's not about her time

Ward Melville's Mary Kate Anselmini has done just about everything an athlete can do in one event.

The senior distance runner was the 2,000-meter steeplechase national champion in 2010, the national record-holder in the event, as well as a two-time Federation champion. She won the national title again Saturday in a meet-record 6 minutes, 34.69 seconds in Greensboro, N.C.

Last weekend at the state championships in Caledonia, she won her second straight Federation title in the event (6:33.14) and was oh so close to besting her own national record of 6:33.01.

Anselmini had a chance to set a national mark at the state meet, but she said she was thrown off a bit by the last two barriers during her final lap. Anselmini didn't seem too concerned with not breaking the mark.

"When you hit that last barrier, you just want to finish the race," said Anselmini, who held off a hard-charging Brianna Nerud of North Shore (6:38.27). "It's rough at the end, because that last barrier is in such an inconvenient spot."

The times this season have been great for Anselmini, who set the national record at the Suffolk state qualifier two weeks ago. But that's not why she's been successful. In fact, time is rarely, if ever, the top priority for her.

Considered one of the most grueling events in track and field, the steeplechase isn't necessarily about speed, according to Anselmini.

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Finding the right pace and clearing the barriers cleanly is the key.

"If I could break 6:30, I would be over the moon. I'd be very happy," she said. "But I'm not trying to get greedy. I don't want to think about the times. I just want to focus on racing well."

Even before the race at the state meet, time wasn't a concern for her.

Said Anselmini: "The way I approached this race was, if I run faster, that's great, if not, I can't ask for more."