Page 172 - 1998.Millard.North

At the Millard South In vite at Walnut Grove are
sophomore Juli e Baumert, junior Jo Gunderson,
sophomore Laura Parrish and seni or Carrie Lessley. RuNNING
The girl s finished in eighth place. photo by Anne
SICmner
Senior Shannon Blatn y was a top runnerwhofinished
in sixth place in Districts at Chalco Hills. The girl s E
qualified for state with a third place finish. photo by FORTHE
Claire Brown
f INISH LIN

By: Katie Swartz

Staying focused, running 3 to 5 runner Kelsie Williamson said.
miles everyday, and having an enthusias- The key to keeping concentra-
tic crowd cheering you on , were some of tion was staying relaxed .
the things that kept cross-country strong, "I stay focused when I know that
throughout the season. the crowd is watching me ," senior varsity
Sophomore varsity runner Brian runner Shannon Blatny said .
Turner stays focused when competing by During the season, running com-
running through the race strategy in his petitively resulted in bumps, bruises,
head. gashes, and sprains.
"I think about what we did in prac- "During a meet once I tore a
tice, and I also find a teammate to race ligament in my right ankle," sophomore
with," Turner said. varsity runner Aspen Vaughn said .
Teammates were an essential part Each student had a different rea-
of the season. son for participating. For some, it was just
"Teammates, coaches, and the following siblings footsteps.
crowd make a huge difference," junior JV "My brother ran in high school. He told
runner Levi Grosskoph said . "Our team me to join cross country because it was
was special because everyone was pretty fun , and he thought I would be good at it,"
close, and no one was too good for any- senior varsity runner Graham Frank said.
one," Grosskoph said . Frank's parents are also involved in run-
Encouragement from their ning.
coaches, friends and teammates pulled Motivation helped the runners
the team through. reach the finishline. "You have to push
"We support each other on the yourself to keep going until the end. Then
team and go to each others' meets. We you can feel accomplishment," junior JV
are all pretty close friends," freshman JV runner Christina Hiller said.

Senior Graham Frank runs in Metro at Chalco against
Prep. The boys finished in fifth pl ace. photo by Claire
Brown
Sophomore Brian Turner runs 5000 meters in I 6:22 for
first place and led the boys to a fourth pl ace finish. The
meet took place at the Millard West Invite at Walnut
Grove. photo by Anne Stanner