With weeks of sweat, blood and training behind them, finally the athletes begin their final games of the fall season. Throughout the field, the stench of sweat shirts and greasy hair sway through the autumn breeze. The 7:00 a.m. cold, wet weather might make one question their dedication to the sport, yet those gathered for the meet in Lisle bring energy and excitement for the upcoming 5K races.
Unlike most Senior Nights, this was offered a refreshing twist in that it was celebrated at roughly (freshly?) 7:00 in the morning, perhaps emphasizing the new beginning the seniors will soon experience leaving high school.
Cross country met at the school no later than 7:30 a.m. to prepare for their meet in Lisle. The girls would go on to run a 5 kilometer race against 35 other schools, facing obstacles such as hills, bumps and pavement.
West Chicago Community High School’s girls’ Varsity runners, including Jessica Balmer, Sophia Garcia, Dayra Araujo Cecilia Ayala, Anahi Munoz, Rachael Balmer, Brissia Bucio, Andrea Armas and Maria Hinojoza, faced a total of 170 other young athletes competing for success at the meet on Oct. 5.
Varsity Girls began their warm-ups at 8:00 a.m., an hour before their race, as a large group to prepare mentally and physically.
“I try to get them to believe in themselves and their training. I teach them about positive talk and telling yourself, ‘I can and I will.’ If they believe they can, then they will do everything they can to put it all out there on the line,” Coach Jocelyn Grauer said.
Coach Grauer had her team run a few rounds of 150 meter sprints back and forth across the field to get their heart rates up for the upcoming race and hard-headed competition.
“You have to be willing to endure discomfort, but know that it is worth it in the end. Trust the training and trust the process. Testing your limits and abilities leads to high reward,” Grauer said.
Despite cross country being primarily an individual sport, when asked what’s the biggest motivation throughout the season, the girls were quick to point to each other.
“My team. I love my team and I just don’t want to let them down,” Hinojoza said.
Each team is given a box number side by side formed in a straight line. The girls gathered in box 19, where they prepared for the gun to shoot out and begin their 5K race.
Balmer cut corners, steadying her pace as she prepared to do strides, passing competition left and right.
“I try to think, ’The faster I run, the faster I’m done,” Balmer said.
Upon the last 200 meters, all racers begin sprinting, trying to get ahead of one another as quickly and efficiently as possible. As one may know that when it comes to racing, every second counts.
The team results in 4th place, being their highest rank so far in the season.
“This was our highest place on varsity, so I’d say this was a great day. We have been working on closing the gaps between our number one runner and our two, three, and four runners. They accomplished this at Saturday’s race which got me pumped up for conference!” Coach Grauer said.
Upon finishing the races, the girls celebrated by passing an ice cream man, Nick, who also cheered.
Enjoying their sweet treats so early in the morning, they prepared a small picnic where they hosted their traditional Senior Night (day) ceremony.
After the meet, the girls headed over to their families, eating and enjoying the sunny day.
“You put in so much hard work, now is the time to have that hard work pay off,” Garcia said.
The week before, the girls would create secret celebratory posters for the seniors to receive on Senior Night.
After the ceremony the seniors are then presented with their posters and give speeches of their experience as a distance runner and what they hope to strive for in the future.
“One of the greatest things about cross country is that hard work will take you a long way. With dedication you will improve and can discover your potential as a runner,” Anderson said.