Lauren McKinley, freshman, started running to take up a new hobby.

“I started running during [COVID-19]. I didn’t have anything to do,” McKinley said. “My parents wanted me to do something. They were both runners.”

McKinley has been running for four years, and this year she hopes to make her mark as a freshman on varsity.

“The top seven [in the cross country program], get to run,” McKinley said. “[It’s determined by] place, timing, if you had the fastest time. If you did, then you’re in the top seven.” 

This spring in track, McKinley wants to compete in different long-distance events.

“I’m gonna do the 1,500 [meters], and the 3,000 [meters], and for club I will do the 2k steeplechase,” McKinley said. “For me at least, I want to get a new PR as much as I can, and just keep getting better every week.”

Outside of high school sports, McKinley looks up to Faith Kipyegon, a runner from Kenya.

“She’s really fun to watch, she holds the record for the 1500 [meters],,” McKinley said. “I try to study her as much as I can because she’s so dominant.”

After she graduates, McKinley plans to run in college and perhaps be noticed by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA). 

“I would obviously love to run somewhere big in Division One, but my goal is just to get some looks from NAIA, and D2s, and eventually If I get to that point, maybe run somewhere D1,” McKinley said.

Closing out the season, McKinley hopes to cherish her cross country years in the rest of her high school career, though she still has years to go.

Running in her first race at six years old, Sienna Reeder, freshman, is a first-year varsity runner. Reeder started her cross country journey simply because she thought it would be a fun thing to do.

Similarly, Reeder is also involved in track and field when cross country is not in season.

“In track I run the 1,500 and 3,000 [meter races],” Reeder said. “But I prefer running in the 1,500.”

Reeder has faced many challenges in her running career, especially with recurring injuries, but is currently dealing with pain and difficulty in her hip.

“[One of my biggest challenges is] getting injured, because right now I have a hip injury, so I have to take a few days off, but mainly just injuries in general,” Reeder said. “I’m not sure how it started. I just started to feel it, and my [physical therapist] said it’s because one of my legs is longer than the other.”

But recovering from that process has been a challenge in itself.

“Right now it’s not a lot of physical therapy work, mostly just strength work,” Reeder said.

Reeder has run in many courses throughout her career, but has a few favorites.

“I really like running on courses that are down hill, and golf courses because they’re the easiest,” Reeder said.

As one of the youngest on the varsity team, Eleanor Wyatt, freshman, has been running cross country since sixth grade. 

“I thought it’d be good conditioning for basketball and I went [and talked] to friends who did it, so I decided to try it with them,” Wyatt said

In middle school, Wyatt did track and is now planning on continuing it this year in high school along with cross country.

“In middle school we were only allowed to go with the highest of 1500m, so I’m hoping this year to try that 3000m as well, but I like running the 800m, the 1500m, and the 4×400 relay,” Wyatt said. 

Cross country can be an individual sport based on your own times, but Wyatt sees benefits in this aspect. 

“Even though you’re fighting to do the best you can individually, you’re still trying to help your team out,” Wyatt said. “But I just think it’s fun because it’s all linear improvement, almost in running because it’s like what you put into it you get.” 

For the remainder of the season, Wyatt has some goals for her and her team to get either to state competitions or place third in the district competitions.

“I think that’s a realistic goal, especially as more people are getting stronger and faster and we kind of come together as a team,” Wyatt said. “To get to state would mean getting top 14 in districts, so that’s what I’m hopefully working towards at the end of the season.”  

Over the summer, Wyatt’s dad surprised her with tickets to the Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon. 

“They were at the Hayward field, so I got to see a lot of good events and I actually met Parker Valby buying [a] Christmas sweater, which is like the highlight of my running life,” Wyatt said.

Holding her spot as a varsity captain, Violet Gowdy, junior, has been on the cross country team throughout all of high school so far, but began her journey in elementary school.

“Truthfully, I got a flyer in my cubby in the third grade for ‘Girls on the Run,’ and I just never stopped,” Gowdy said. “I really enjoy the fact that it just clears my head so well. Like if I’m stressed, I’ll just go for an easy run and I feel so much better after.” 

The varsity roster for cross country fluctuates based on the seven fastest times at the most recent meet. Gowdy has been able to hold her spot, but her progress included some injuries in prior years.

“If you do really well one week you could be in varsity, but then if you have an off week, you can be JV,” Gowdy said. “I’ve struggled a bit with injuries because I had an injury my freshman year with my knee. It was just a very typical runner injury, and then I had another one in my calf. Staying on top of my [physical therapy (PT)] has helped, so even though I’m not injured at this moment I’m still doing my PT so I don’t get injured.”

Gowdy’s personal goals this season are focused on improving her mentality and self-talk. Her current personal record (PR) that she wants to beat is 19 minutes and 52 seconds for a 5k.

“[I want] to put a little bit less pressure on myself to do well, and just go with the flow a little bit but still try my best,” Gowdy said. “I also wanted to just get really close to my PR. But last season, I was pretty sick at the beginning so I didn’t improve that much. I was hoping to first get to my PR, and then improve.”

Unlike some other high school sports, cross country training lasts year-round. Athletes train in different kinds of weather, running together five to six times a week in and out of their regular season. Gowdy has a preference when it comes to routes the team runs on together.

“We have this one race, Meriwether. It’s a golf course, and it’s relatively flat, one hill, and it’s no loops. You go over the same part once or twice, but it’s not like a continual loop,” Gowdy said. “And then if the weather was like 55 [degrees] and slightly raining, that would be beautiful.”

The womens team has traditions and team-bonding activities they participate in before meets. As a captain, Gowdy works to encourage the team and form their bond.

“I love [our] team camaraderie. We braid each other’s hair and we use glitter and paint and stuff, getting ready for the race on the bus ride [to a meet]. It’s always so much fun,” Gowdy said. “Sometimes cross country can feel so individual. It’s just like— your times, your things. But we do get a team score. It is a team sport [but] sometimes that gets lost, and we really want to bring that back.”

Hoping to go sub 19 minutes this season to break the school record, Campbell Noce, senior, began running cross country in middle school.

“My sister started cross country in middle school,” Noce said. “My mom’s a coach, so [that’s how] I kind of got into it.” I just had so much fun with it, I kept going.” 

Noce understands struggles at recent meets and practices. Explaining how they counteract negative thoughts when running.

“It was hotter than expected, I was recovering from being sick, so it was kind of ‘iffy,’ but I’m proud of my perseverance,” Noce said. “When I hear negative thoughts, I just counter them with a positive thought, and it helps.” 

Throughout Noce’s running career, they have persevered through meets, earning a personal record of 19:08. Noce has had to deal with health struggles throughout their running career.

“I’ve been struggling a lot with iron deficiency. I had to get infusions last year because it was super low. I’ve gotten them back up, but it’s really hard to maintain” Noce said.

“Last year we had a meet at a golf course at the beginning of the season, it was 90 degrees and I really pushed through it in that race,” Noce said.

This year being Noce’s final year on the team, they’re interested in running at the collegiate level in the future. 

“I’m looking into [collegiate level cross country], I would probably try it out, but I don’t know if it would be too much,” Noce said.

Joining the cross country team during freshman year, Lauren Burnett, junior, continues her third year on varsity this season.

Before joining the team, Burnett always had a dislike for running but wanted to try something new.

“Once I started [running] I had to finish, and then I just kept going because it ended up growing on me,” Burnett said.

Burnett started on the varsity team during her freshman year and qualified for the state competition the same season. One of Burnett’s goals for the team is to qualify again this season.

“I hope that we get to go to state this year. I think we have a decent chance this year,” Burnett said.

Aside from qualifying for the state competition, Burnett also hopes to achieve another personal record this season. 

“[Getting a personal record] makes me feel accomplished because we work really hard,” Burnett said.

When the cross country season ends, Burnett also runs on the track team during the spring season. Although Burnett also enjoys track, she favors many parts of cross country more because of the close community.

“[My favorite part is] the team in general,” Burnett said. “[I love] all the girls, and it’s a really rewarding thing to do.”

Even though Burnett is not looking to run in college, she hopes to continue to embrace her running career throughout high school. 

Cass Stout, junior, started running on the cross country team during their freshman year. Stout has always enjoyed being active, which motivated them to start running on the team.

During Stout’s first season on the team, they achieved a personal best during the district competition, becoming one of their proudest moments.

“The excitement of knowing you’ve gotten better and you’ve improved, being able to know that you have the ability to improve is just so fun,” Stout said. “Then you get to share that happiness with your teammates.”

This season, one of Stout’s goals is to improve from their personal best last season, and also hopes their team can make it to the state competition.

“I think definitely this year we might have a chance at going to state as a team,” Stout said.

During the cross country off-season, Stout runs on the track and field team during the spring season and participates in the winter and summer training run by the cross country team.

After high school, Stout hopes to run in college for both track and cross country. With only one more season left after this school year, Stout appreciates the community that the team has provided them since their freshman year.

“Everyone is so included, and everyone just hypes [each other] up in cross country,” Stout said.