Becoming All-State In Cross Country

When I first joined cross country I was not fast nor a runner. I was one of the slowest people on the team, but I wanted to get faster and I was determined to improve. Some days we would do a hills workout and I would get to the top of the longest hill and think, “I could just run back to Armstrong right now and be done”. But then, I thought about how if I did another hill, I would get better and some time during a race when there was a big hill I would look at it like it’s nothing. I could go up the hill easily and pass a couple girls. So I would do another hill. Then the next time we did hills I rememberd how many I did the last time and pushed myself to do one more. Through that cross country showed me that I could be faster and tougher than I thought I was if I put in the effort and want it

I came to the first day of summer practice; I wore cheer shoes, a bow, and a full face of makeup. That day my coach looked at me and told me to run five miles, I thought I was going to actually die. By the end of the practice I had thrown up multiple times and repeatedly told myself never again. I had mentally and physically already given up, so I thought. During the next three weeks of summer practice I ran on my own, day after day of agonizing pain. I've never been one to give up, when things start to get tuff, that usually means I just have to get tougher. I came back the first day of actual practice ready for whatever was about to be thrown at me, again I was told to run five miles. This time I could actually keep up, I stayed with the girls on the team the entire time. The first race took place nearly three weeks later at our own home course, the only goal I had at the time was to not get last place. Everyone lined up at the starting line, anxiously swaying back and forth waiting for the wretched sound of the gun to go off. The gun finally went off and the race had begun. I started off in second place next to the fastest girl on our team, who was also the girl who had asked me to join

Last year I started a new sport, cross country. I only did it because my lacrosse coach said that it might help me get better for lacrosse. So I went to the first late summer practice last year to see what this was like, so then we did warm-ups and a lap around the track. Then it was the first time I met coach Chase, My first impression of him was going to be very strict, But soon realized that this was false because of one of the first things he said. He said “I know there are a lot of nerves here right now, but cross country isn’t about winning every race, that comes later” then continued with “Cross country is about showing what you can do to yourself.” This struck me very hard because I was not that fast and was near the back. Through that fall the team did very well, I also made some progress myself. After the season was over I made a decision.

“Good Job keep going, you can do it, run run faster, you got this!” These were the words coming from the audience as I was finishing my last 100 meters in the cold, pouring, rain during sectionals. I was in second place in my heat and my heart was thumping and I couldn't see through the water stains on my glasses, but I heard someone someone breathing hard and their spikes hitting the track as they ran behind me and I knew I had to push even harder.I remembered the rough trading I had in practice and knew I could do it.

The coach made us run extra harder, which many people did not enjoy. I ran thinking, if I run hard enough, I will run the greatest 2-mile, the distance we have to run in the league finals, I have ever ran. We would run intervals, 1 lap, 2 laps, 3 laps, 4 laps, and vice versa. We would also run up and down stairs and run track laps until we felt like puking. The week passed by fast as we practiced, and the league finals was just up ahead now. The weekend before the meet, wasn’t much, but for most of the weekend, I had butterflies in my stomach multiplying every second the meet got closer. My dad told me not to worry, which I thought was silly, because this was a huge meet. I got a lot of rest sleeping, and finally, the day had come. The day of the cross country league

We quickly received a summer training schedule and I started training. I soon came to the realization that this sport was just what I needed. Cross-country was the key that unlocked my jail cell, and I started dropping times – fast. As my freshman season came to a close, I ran a personal record (PR) of 19:49, somewhat rare among brand new runners. At around the same time, my dad received orders to move back to Pace, Florida, where I had spent part of my elementary school days. I joined my new team but unfortunately could not perform well. I didn’t run very much after my freshman season, so I basically had to start from scratch with a 25:05 time trial. As a result of hard work, I PR’d in my last race with a 19:36, but that wasn’t the highlight of the season. I had people helping me through this struggle the whole

I refused to ever let someone replace me on the track again. Not only did I earn that respect, I demanded it. My workouts were no longer a social hour, but a boot camp. I was the hardest working undersized athlete in the program. My junior track season finally arrived, yet once again I would not have the chance to compete for a junior varsity district championship. No, this year I competed for a varsity district championship. My efforts in the offseason led to a promotion on the team. The lingering emotions of anger and disappointment were replaced with gleaming pride. My previous failure had propelled me to success within a single

Many activities I participate in require serious commitment. Most notably, I am the captain of the Cross Country team and on the varsity Track team here at Brookfield East. To be at peak performance, I must train every day. Although running is difficult, it is how I “seize the day.” To get to where I am now, it took countless hours and substantial dedication. Now I am at the end of the road, all the time I put into acheiving my goal was not in vain. I have become faster than I ever was before and have lead my teamates to do the same as we pushed each other and met with success. The demands of race also require a straightforward mindset focused on competing. The difficulties that were tolerated during the training and race are turned

I was a late-comer to athletics. So when the distance coach recruited me in tenth grade, it was a pleasant surprise to be half decent. I was deemed the most improved cross country runner in the nation, dropping six minutes for a 4K, landing me in my first state race. I have since been a contributing part of my varsity team. I have been All-Conference and All-Section for the past three years. This past year, my cross country team won state and nationals. I, myself, was runner-up in the team division at nationals. In Track and Field, I also competed at state. Running has become a huge part of my life, teaching me many lessons, especially that there is always room for

We were out for vengeance, and as the first heat came to a close, the three remaining teams lined up. Our team was Brandon Reid starting off the blocks, Isaiah running the second leg, me securing the third, and Bawa trying to end the race in strong fashion. As I loosened my legs up, the gun sounded, and I watched Brandon get off to a quick start. Before I knew it, Isaiah was 10m behind me and was ready to pass the baton. As I grabbed the baton from Isaiah, I noticed I was a few meters behind a kid from Avon. Never, ever again I thought. My legs planted and exploded off the ground in a simultaneous motion. I was like a cheetah chasing after a gazelle. As the wind blew through my cleanly cut hair, I began to close the gap between myself and the man ahead. In the closing 20m, I tried my hardest to catch the Avon kid, but I couldn’t. As I passed the baton to Bawa, my heart sank. As my chin dipped to my chest so I could only notice the ground, I realized I did not run the fastest 100m. At the end of the race, we finished second behind Avon, again. My arms tensed and my stomach dropped. Losing to Avon was the worst possible ending to my track season. However, my head would be picked up by a more important event that followed days after the Founders League Tournament.

I approached that year’s conditioning with a pessimistic attitude and wondered why was I doing this when I’m not going to run in meets. Just like the year before, I assumed that conditioning and practicing would be obsolete. I braced myself for another disappointing year. Every winter day after school, I braced myself against the cold with a hope that this season would be different. I went into the first day of practice feeling in shape and optimistic. But just like freshman year, there was no preparing for the ache and suffering of the first practice. With the season approaching, our coach timed us to determine who would run in meets. Our coach divided us into groups based on how fast she thought we were. When a senior saw that I was in the first, slower group, he said that I belonged in the faster group with them. Hearing that compliment from a senior changed my outlook on the season might go. As the first track meet approached, we split off into groups so we could perfect our technique based on the event we were running. As I was jogging around the track wondering whether this year was going to be the same as last year, our coach summoned me over to perfect baton handoffs for the 4x100 meter relay. As the realization hit me that I was going to compete, I thought, “I’m not going to relinquish this spot because I labored profusely to attain

When the stakes are high and completion is close, you have to find something deep down that know one else has, and that is heart. You soon realize that your best is not your best, and that you can always reach a new level of greatness. Countlessly, we believe that it is impossible to to aim higher, but that is where we go mentally weak. Every season, I set a goal to run a certain time by state, and work hard until I conquer it. When I am in a race, and I'm dying of pain, my goal seems to get harder to reach by the second, but that is when you dig deeper than you ever have. Falling on the ground in tears because you did the absolute best you could, despite the pain, is much greater than falling on the ground in tears because you wish you would

Mr. D. has coached at Wabasso for numerous years and has left a lasting impression on all of his runners. Mr. Dudgeon’s main priorities throughout all his years of coaching are to expand and improve his teams and, most importantly, to make sure everyone has fun. For instance, he puts unfathomable amounts of care and time into meticulously designing the perfect workout for each day of practice; he even does the workouts himself before he has our team run them. Furthermore, Mr. Dudgeon always makes sure that we feel prepared for the upcoming meets, and most importantly, he makes sure we are ready to “destroy the competition,” as he says. His infectious love for running, drive for success, and through-the-roof level of care for his athletes helps him build larger and more successful teams every year. To be specific, Mr. D. started with a cross country team composed of five girls and built it up to up to a conference-champion team of 10+ runners in a matter of only three years. The product of Mr. Dudgeon’s labor was a shiny cross country coach of the year plaque. Similarly, in a mere one year's

Over the course of my high school cross country career, I have made it to state twice and onto varsity my sophomore, junior, and senior year. But those successes did not happen overnight. Sore muscles, blistered feet, and gruesome practices were just a few of the obstacles that challenged me. Furthermore, our team was known

Leading up to state championships my junior year I dreamed of standing atop the podium, and validating my years of hard work. The first day of competitions, I felt the nerves kick in before my banked slalom race. Riding on the chair lift and looking at the flags, jumps, and turns, my stomach dropped. Sitting on the lift I pictured two outcomes, one where I had the perfect run.The other where I stumbled the down the course, hardly making it across the finish line. At the top of the course I kept playing the worst outcome over and