By Delaney Dine

After a successful season winning SWBL, the girls’ cross country has a close-knit team and a great dynamic between teammates. “It’s one huge family that always supports and encourages each other,” sophomore Lena Underbakke said. “My favorite part of cross country is the girls on the team and seeing them everyday.” 

While their reasons for joining the team vary, they all found a very special connection with each other. “I chose to do cross country because my friends said it was super fun and I wanted to start exercising more,” sophomore Erin Secody said. Underbakke joined the team to get better cardio for wrestling.

The team became much more for both Underbakke and Secody.

“I think the positive attitude of the team is what makes it so fun,” Secody said. “Having friends and people who make you laugh is a large part of making such a difference in how you perceive practice and the sport overall.”

Both runners have improved throughout their season. “At the start of the season, I wasn’t able to even run half a mile without stopping,” Secody said. “I dropped about 8 minutes over the season starting at 32:50 to 25:23.” 

The team worked hard to grow as runners and as a team, with different things to help them improve in practice. 

“I definitely think that hills was the most important part of training for races,” Secody said. “Even though it wasn’t enjoyable, practicing the mindset and the rigor of the hills made them a lot easier in the races.”

Underbakke attributes a lot of her success in races to their long runs on Mondays, helping her endurance and self esteem during a race. “Being able to complete that many miles is such a confidence booster and makes me feel more accomplished,” Underbakke said. “It can also make the race feel shorter.”