Last Friday, the OH girls cross country team completed in Conference at the Channahon Community Park placing fifth overall with three runners make All-Conference, including Lindsey Sturm, Morgan Bradley, and Alivia Kath.
OH sophomore and runner Grace Johnson said, “I think we did very well dealing with the harsh conditions… because the course wasn’t ideal.”
Leading up to the meet, there was lots of rain, which meant some standing water and mud on the course for the runners to contend with. Despite this, the girls team performed well, mostly, the team said, because of all the training they had done in the season up to this point.
OH junior runner Alivia Kath added, “We’ve been more intentional with our workouts [and] recovery, [which] we’ve been able to see in our racing.”
This has shown up in their results, as 19 of their 22 runners have ran a PR, or personal record, throughout the course of this season.
It isn’t just varsity doing all the heavy lifting: everyone on the team is pushing one another to grow both as athletes and as people.
“Our community as a team has really helped us get through a lot of the meets,” said Johnson. “[Our] team feels like a family.’’
Cross Country is typically seen as an individual sport due to everyone’s individual results, but the girls team has managed to stay connected and work with one another, even outside of practice. When a team is able to achieve that, they are much more likely to see themselves perform well.
OH senior runner Morgan Bradley said, “We’re all trying to work for each other… rather [than] ourselves.“
Three mile races can be grueling for runners, and so it is important for them to have something to run for more than themselves. By running for one another, they are all pushing past their own mental barriers to help their team do better in whatever way they can.
When asked how far her team could make it in the postseason, OH junior runner Sophia Padilla said, “State. That’s been our main goal since summer training.“
After missing State last year by just two places in the Sectional meet, these girls are looking to prove they can do more this season.
With three All-Conference finishers and a united team, they are poised to do just that.
Hi! My name is Ben Herrera and I'm a Senior at Oswego High School. This is my first year on the 42Fifty staff, and I'm currently a Reporter. Additionally, I am involved with Oswego High School's cross country and track teams, as well as multiple honor societies. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
Hello there! I am Jonah McCoskey, and I am a junior at Oswego High School, located in Oswego, Illinois. This is my first year on the 42Fifty staff, and I am proud to call myself a Staff Reporter for this organization. I am also a member of the Cross Country (PDT) team, as well as a member of the Track team here at OHS. While this is my first year on the journalism team, I have a collection of previous English Credentials. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
