Sports

Cross Country Wraps Up a Successful Season

Jenny Fu, Staff Writer
November 9, 2017

On Saturday, October 14, the last race of the season, held at Kenston High School, was a win for the Mayfield Cross Country team. They raced against 8 schools: Riverside, Memorial, Kenston, Chardon, Eastlake, Madison, Willowick, and Willoughby.

The course was two miles (3.2 km) and relatively flat. It began at an even stretch of land, later going up hill, then into some woods and spilling into a wide open field, with the sun shining brightly. Finally, in the last part, runners finished the course with a partial lap around a baseball field. Parents, peers and some wildcat staff came to cheer the athletes on.

The boys ran first. Jake Arth came in first for Mayfield at 12:15, 14th overall. Kyle Laws finished in 12:21. Taking 16th place in total.

In the girls race, Mai Ly Marella finished first for Mayfield, and won second place overall. Gia Arnold, got 13th place, and Lauren Isabella got 15th place. The girls were awarded 3rd place in the competition, finishing behind Riverside and Kenston.

Before the race, a few people were interviewed about how they felt about the final race. Lauren Isabella, with a P.R (personal record) of 13:42, said that she felt a bit nervous but also excited for the last race of the year. She added that what gets her motivated is that the races are really fun, and the runs challenge her in a good way. She also added that if she were to do another season, she would work more on her breathing. Isabella says her least favorite workout would be the speed workouts.

But in contrast, Jake Arth, the fastest boy on the team who participated in the October 14 race, with a P.R. of 12:12, says that he felt “meh” about the race. He says his main motivation for doing well on the team is that he simply really likes running. Arth says that he would like to improve his sprints next season.

Another member, Mykenna Roy, with a P.R. 17:07, said she was “super pumped” for the race. Roy said what inspires her to keep running is seeing everyone else when they cheer her on. The louder they cheer, the more she pushes herself to go faster. She says she wants to work on going uphill more often. Roy says her least favorite workout in XC is, the speed workouts:“They’re important, but are super torturous,” she replied jokingly.

Teresa Leopold, a member of the team, with a P.R. of 17:26, said that she was nervous but excited for the race. Leopold says what motivates her to run is Youtuber FullyRawKristina. She says the internet star runs everyday, and it motivates her to do the same. Leopold says the hardest part about running for her is the endurance. She says it’s hard to stay at the same pace whiletrying to beat her speed. Leopold has set a long-term goal for fifteen minutes. She says the least favorite part of training is pushing hard, to where she’s at her limit.

Lastly, Sam Stenroos, with a personal record of 13:32, said that he was nervous but also happy. He said was got him into cross country in the first place was his brother. Coming home from a soccer practice, he went with his family to go pick him up. He had to help his brother, because he didn’t know English at the time. He saw a few guys running and started to run alongside them; he realized he liked it very much.

For many of the runners, the end of the season might mean a welcomed break from intense workouts and competition, but for some, they’ll continue the activity they love through the off-season.