As the 2023 season strides out, the Woodmore Girl’s Cross Country team is racing against the clock. There are eight girls on the cross country team: Senior Caydie Buchanan, Senior Margaret Bush, Senior Kylie Cordy, Senior Emma Hammer, Senior Madi Hammer, Junior Stella Strong, Sophomore Camille Strong, and Freshman Mallory Meggit.
The Woodmore Girl’s Cross Country Team got off to a great start, leading the SBC by 30 points after the night meet at Eastwood on August 26th. Senior Emma Hammer placed 11th, running a 20:37:82. Emma has been working extremely hard this season, and she has learned a lot from alumni Olivia Vogelpohl and Jordan Beam (Class of ‘23). According to Emma, “Liv and Jordan helped me learn how to let the bad workouts and races go and hold on to the good ones.” This is very important in order to grow as a runner, because shaking it off and moving on allows you to continue training and do better next race. Emma’s sister Madi Hammer also runs cross country and plays basketball. Running in the fall helps Madi prepare for basketball in the winter because she can, “build up endurance and can play longer without getting as tired.” Unfortunately, there have been some injuries on the team this year. When asked, Senior Margaret Bush had this to say on the most important aspect of running is; “Staying mentally tough is key to staying engaged. Your mind gives up long before your body, so building up mental endurance is a great way to succeed.” These girls are taught to be strong and center themselves using breathing techniques and practice “being bored” during certain workouts. Being mentally capable is one thing, but sometimes there are physical limitations. Senior Kylie Cordy and Junior Stella Strong have been struggling with injuries. This is challenging but these girls have stayed positive, and, like Stella said, “keep the mindset that I will get better eventually.” Kylie takes the initiative in and out of practice, “I try my best to take care of my body the best I can and complete my PT exercises. The more I push through, the faster I’ll be done.” Keeping a positive mindset is essential, because your mind gives up much sooner than your body.
Mallory Meggit has been running cross country since middle school, but she was the only girl on the team. Now, she has seven other girls to back her up. In her words, “I like having teammates there to push me and they are always there for me.” For Sophomore Camille Strong, this is her first year ever participating in this sport. She has done very well so far and adjusted to the team dynamic very quickly. Camille had this to say about her first year, “ I have learned most of the ropes on how to stay on pace throughout the entire race and am working towards taking more time off of my PR. I am grateful to have such a supporting coach and team who have made me feel very welcome and comfortable with joining cross country.”
Everyone has their favorite part of the race, and it is safe to say everyone’s favorite part is the finish. It always feels great when crossing the finish line. Freshman Mallory Meggit judges her races based on her finish because, “when I look back at my performance I look at my finish and if I finished strong I will know that I gave it my all.” Camille also said she thouroughly enjoys that last push, commenting that, “it makes me feel accomplished and very happy because my race is over.”
The three underclassmen- Stella, Camille, and Mallory all look up to the seniors on the team. Stella looks up to Caydie the most because, “she is so good at balancing soccer and cross country. Caydie does really well at managing her grades, having a social life, and still being awesome at her sports. Caydie is someone I hope to be like, and I don’t think I could juggle everything like she does.” Camille looks up to Madi with much admiration, saying, “she is there for me and will answer all of my nervous questions before a race, especially at my first race. She also works hard even through her injuries which makes me want to push myself as well.” Mallory also has a lot of respect for Caydie, adding, “she is always positive and does her best at anything she does.” All the seniors on the team will be dearly missed and they should be so proud of the things they have accomplished.
Unfortunately, with there being five seniors on the team, and only three other girls, Woodmore is in danger of having an incredibly small girls cross country team for the 2024-25 season. We need more girls, and all the seniors encourage any girls out there to come out for the team. Madi Hammer believes, “by joining the team you gain not only friends but a family as well. You don’t necessarily have to love running to join, in general the team is a great place to be yourself, gain a strong mental attitude and get yourself in shape for other sports.” Kylie Cordy agrees with this, saying, “cross country is the best sport you could do to get you in shape for other sports, because it’s an endurance sport. Running cross country, you gain another family and create the best friends and memories.”
All five seniors were asked what they would miss most about cross country. Everyone will miss spending time with some of their best friends. There is so much to miss, like “all the fun we have together and all the funny moments.” Emma will miss, “running 5ks instead of 6ks and I will miss Lacy and Finnigan.” For Senior Margaret Bush, “I will miss Friday morning practices because it always felt so exhilarating and gave me a boost of energy.” They all have their favorite moments from over the years; such as going down to state twice, or as Emma put it, “when we had the ‘privilege’ of running 10 miles.”
This team works incredibly hard day in and day out, on and off the course, the home stretch is approaching, and the girls are gearing up for the postseason. Goodluck girls! Go Cats!
