The Lady Eagles competed at the Belmond Invitational on September 6th against a strong field of cross country programs from central and northern Iowa. On an aggregate level the ladies continue to work hard on a daily basis. As a sport we know that cross county success isn’t based on the times or places you achieve early in the season rather how well you are running the middle of October that truly measures one success within a season. We take one practice and meet at a time working to increase your goals and standards as the success of individuals has a direct correlation to the success and performance of the overall team!
The majority of the runners are new to the sport of cross country and experiencing the cross country learning curve. As we progress these girls are developing an increased level of confidence and buying into the daily training routines. In the end the sport of cross country is building positive benefits for these your ladies, benefits that will help them impact them in so many ways as they transition through high school, college, and beyond!!
At this point in the season Madi Axtell has been the leading performer in our meet competitions. This is a repeat role for Madi and she is coming of a great junior season where she was able to earn 1st team all-conference honors while drastically improving her time since her sophomore season.
I saw Madi take a positive step forward in the Belmond meet, pushing herself to run towards the front and her placing.
Savannah Gilbert is working to get herself back into running condition after an off-season surgery. We just have to take one day at a time with Savannah allowing her to regain her level of confidence. Jocelyn Gonzales is new to the sport of cross country this season and I am very happy to have her in our program.
I can see she is starting to understand the sport of cross country and is really pushing herself every day in practice. She took a positive step at the Belmond Invitational with her desire to push from the start. Jocelyn had a great week of practice and look for her to improve her meet time at the Ballard Invitational on Sept 12th. Payton Terwilliger is our lone Freshman competing in meets.
High school competition is a lot different than MS cross country from a training and competitive level. As we go into September her confidence is growing and I see a lot of potential in Payton. The key for Payton is not holding back, taking herself out of her comfort zone, and challenging herself on a daily basis. If Payton executes those things, she will be a real surprise in October. As a returning sophomore Lesley Mendez has a year of experience under her belt and feel she wants to increase her goals for the 2022 season.
Lesley definitely has the ability to improve her times this season. The key is to challenge herself every day and have the internal desire to set new standards at every meet this season.
The Lady Eagles will be running at the Ballard Invitational on Sept 12th.
