STRONG STRIDES

Strong strides

The boys and girls cross country teams wrap up their season at semi-State

WORDS: Josh Hayes, Julio Herrera, Rylie Gleason, Krista Kulacz, Abbey O’Neill DESIGN: Joanna Kouros

PHOTO: Julio Herrera

The postseason boys and girls cross country teams both ended their season at semi-state. The girls ended the season by placing seventh at semi-state and the boys placing tenth. “From the very beginning I just try to get out, like no matter how fast I’ve got to go, I usually just try to get out. Then I just bring myself back down to my pace,” Addison Roth (10). After starting a meet or competition, a runner can start to lose their pace quickly. Runners have different ways of pacing themselves throughout the race and different pre-meet rituals to ensure their success. “I am extremely superstitious about the way the tongue of my shoe fits, it has to be perfectly flat, and I have to triple knot my shoes. They have to be tight, if my spikes aren’t tight around my feet I feel like they are going to fall off,” Carly Davis (12) said. Some athletes have their superstitions before meets that they believe influence their performance. The girls team spent time together visualizing their upcoming meets at every Friday morning practice. “My goal was to get top 30 at least and be like up there for the team, but that didn’t happen. I kind of got excited and nervous, I visualized and thought positively about what I’m going to do and how I’m going to do it,” Nicole Vollrath (10)said.

The nerves of athletes can be overpowering to some. But seeing a bigger win in the future can push runners and other athletes to the final big win. “In bigger invites like postseason ones, I try to pinpoint certain girls maybe that I know I usually run with from earlier season meets. But I don’t really have a strategy, I just go out and run,” Davis said. Davis explains how she paces herself with her competitors during meets. Another aspect of cross country is the mental preparation that happens before meets. “I should have a better mentality this season. I think I did a good job staying positive and keeping negative things out of my head, that people have said. Next season, I’m just looking forward to getting another chance at state, to better myself,” Roth said. For runners with another season ahead of them, they make notes for what they can prepare for to improve next season. On the other hand, for seniors, it can be emotional to leave their high school running career behind. “It feels bittersweet because I wanted to make it to state my senior year, but it was a good season with my teammates,” Ethan Schassburger (12) said.

"IT FEELS BITTERSWEET BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE IT TO STATE MY SENIOR YEAR BUT IT WAS A GOOD SEASON WITH MY TEAMMATES.” ETHAN SCHASSBURGER (10)