Cross-Country Team: A Fictional Narrative

"What do you think happened?" they asked. Nobody knew. Perhaps the farmer caught up with

The Texas heat can best be described as merciless and seemingly eternal; a vicious boxer constantly rattling the track with radiation. The sound of exhausted lungs desperately trying to grasp one breath muffled the sound of my coaches screaming exactly two hundred meters away. It was a scenario I was too familiar with, yet I had no desire to quit. From my sophomore to senior year in high school I was a proud member of the Marcus Track & Field team. My inclusion in the competitions, however, were not always guaranteed to me.

Jessica is the new girl, while Alexia is popular and bratty. Peter is the class clown, while his friend Luke is the smart kid and a total nerd. Danielle is shy and has a hard time standing up for herself. Anna is an outcast because of her home situation, and Jeffery hates everything. Mr. Terupt is the new teacher who knows how to deal with them all. The class wanted to have a great year with their new favorite teacher, but then a playful joke turns into a possibly fatal freak accident. So, the kids grow very close to each other as they hold onto hope that their teacher will be okay.

“A. There was a man that came there that he had trouble with. I don't know who the man was.

Logan flicked on his flashlight and pointed it to the ground, “ It looks like there are footprints going towards the tunnel”.

For the past three years I’ve been a part of a team that has shaped me into the person I am today. The John Hay cross country team has given me qualities that genuinely made me a better person such as being confident, disciplined, motivated, and a leader. Not only did running help me express these attributes, it also saved my life.

As Angelica confidently strolled into Rosario High, Eliza and Peggy, her sisters followed close behind. Angelica had been at the school before, because she'd been taking a bus over to the high school for her advanced math class all throughout eighth grade. Eliza, however, had never been inside the building before and felt incredibly small walking in. Peggy wasn't even supposed to be there. She should've been in eighth grade, but she skipped it and went straight to high school. She was very smart, but no one ever noticed. She was always just Angelica and Eliza's sister. They made their way down wing 1B in search of their lockers. Peggy stopped at her locker, number ninety six, while Angelica and Eliza looked for their own. Angelica finished her search at locker number seventy stuff. Eliza found hers a bit farther down, locker 46. While she began to unpack her books, she saw four boys making their way down the hallway. One was the famous jock, Lafayette. No one knew his real name except teachers, because he insisted that it was to long to use. His friend, another jock who was very smart, however, Hercules Mulligan followed him down the hall. John Laurens, who was decent at sports, but more of a science guy was with them, too. Following them was the mystery man, Alexander Hamilton. He was in their grade, but barely anyone knew anything about him. Eliza figured he was just another jock.

“Yeah, that was pretty cool, but it is everywhere,” John said in a concerned voice.

“Did they really find me again?” She muttered under her breath. Trying to catch her breath to run faster, getting used to being on the run. At least she was used to it by now. Nothing different than saying “hi” to friends.

Last year when I won the Highland Conference in Cross Country, is when I really started to like running. I remember the first meet of the season. I had been running a lot, like 35 miles per week a lot, I was feeling very ready and just felt like I had the advantage on everyone else. I was in such good shape that the two miles you run in an actual meet felt like nothing compared to how much I had been running on my own so at that first meet I kind of surprised myself. I took off a lot faster than everyone else it seemed. I kept a much faster pace than most and just kind of kept it that way. The meet was at Manton, so half way through the race I remembered Manton’s cross country course is known for the signature obstacle, the mudpit. When I got

When times get tough, don’t give up. If you want to be the best you can be you don’t have a choice but to push your limits and try. As these words of encouragement have made me become who I am, cross country has shaped me into the person I am today.

Throughout the active school year, I take part in cross country, track and basketball. I also played volleyball for a year, but I decided to concentrate on my main passion, cross country, instead of dividing my time and attention into two sports at the same time. I have been running cross country ever since I was old enough to run in the munchkin races. The sport has been passed down through the family, almost every single one of my siblings have run or at least tried it. In track, I have ran the mile and two mile since the seventh grade. These last couple years I joined into the long distance relays. In 2016, the first year we decided to start a relay it consisted of my sister, Victoria, Tristen Ness, and Sammy Swanson. The first time we ran

Shawn Torrent was sitting in his math class at Palm beach k-12 school, he looked up from his work to see that his teacher, Mrs. Clarke, was no longer writing a problem on the board, or even in the classroom. Shawn looked around the room, as a few other students started to realize that she wasn’t there. Some of the kids from Shawn’s class, including his best friend Cody Mitchell, stood up and walked to the hallway. Shawn followed everyone into the hallway, where he noticed kids from other classes had done the same. He had asked multiple people what was going on, but got no response from anyone. Then Shawn looked down the hallway and saw Alana Morrison come out of her advanced algebra class. He had always liked Alana, but they had never really

Cross country is a sport for the dreamers. This fact becomes abundantly clear once setting foot out on the course. The atmosphere created by this determination and drive is palpable. A defining difference that separates cross country from other team sports is the lack of ill will towards other teams, rivalries are present but they provide for a greater sense of competition between schools. When looking up sportsmanship in the dictionary it says “refer to cross country”. What creates such a friendly environment that many other sports seem to lack? It all goes back to the shared goal, to finish.

I take a deep breath, as I am waiting on the 4th lane of the track. The marshall yells his command,