After growing through what she described as a rough season, OH sophomore Kristin Soderlind earned the Oct. 27- Nov. 2 Athlete of the Week due to her successful cross country season, which included an appearance at State competition.
“I got into cross country due to both my older sisters, Audra and Kate, becoming runners after playing soccer for years. I later followed in their footsteps and ended up quitting soccer and becoming a runner,” said Soderlind.
Most athletes who have been playing a sport for a while change to something new only to realize they are better at it and unexpectedly love it more, like Soderlind did.
Soderlind pointed out that she started off rough: “A huge struggle I had especially before races was fueling my body. It was always very difficult for me to eat on race day due to anxiety. However, I now can fuel my body properly as I have realized that fuel is essential if I want to succeed,” said Soderlind.
Soderlind never gave up, she only realized it was an essential part of her journey to continue getting better. Many individuals had seen Soderlind improve in many ways.
“Her main area of improvement was her confidence in her racing and training,” said OH girls cross country coach Alicia Rafferty. “She transferred her training to her racing this year which is something that as a freshman last year she struggled with. As a sophomore her main improvement was her confidence level that she could race at a high level as well as train at a high level.”
Last season, Rafferty said, “Kristin did an awesome job putting in the miles which is our base for our racing season. Kristin also did an awesome job attacking the workouts as well as putting herself where she needed to be at the start of races which allowed her to race better than she ever has before.”
Soderlind surprised everyone with the great prioritization she set her mind to. She knew what she wanted and pushed herself every day to prepare for her next race.
Rafferty thinks she’s greatly improved this season. “Yes, Kristin will definitely be ready for the track which is her next season. If she puts the miles in and the off-season training in she will be ready for next year to race at an even higher level than she already is.”
Soderlind’s teammate and fellow sophomore Morgan Bradley is a great supporter. “I think Kristin’s best moment in cross country was qualifying to go to state,” said Bradley.
Although Soderlind has improved so much in her sport, she isn’t sure about continuing cross country after high school “I’m uncertain whether I want to continue cross country after high school. If I do, I have no particular college in mind,” said Soderlind.
As Soderlind moves forward with her journey, she has set plenty of goals. “My main goal for next season is to break 18 minutes for three miles and to qualify for sectionals as a team. I also have more goals for the program, as I would love to see more girls come out for the team, “ said Soderlind.
