Sports Preview: For the Cougar Girl’s Cross-Country Running Team, Success will Come When Sticking Together

If you are looking for some of the most dedicated and disciplined girls at , look no further than the girl’s cross country running squad.

It’s their hard work—in and out of the season—which propelled them to third place at the state tournament last fall, and will help them attempt the same kind of success this season.

The good news is that almost all of the moving parts from last season’s run are still in place, losing only one runner from their top 12. Their experience and depth on their team will be one of their strengths this year.

“There is a lot of motivation and competition for those varsity spots,” Head Coach Jessica Just said. “They definitely have the work ethic and goals to be successful again.”

Another team strength is their ability to run as a pack during competition. Last year, the girl’s ran a number of meets where the spread from their first to fifth runner was a mere 30 to 40 seconds. Those meets were a testament to the close bond between runners who aren’t afraid to push each other.

Like many sports, preparation for cross-country running is a year-round affair. Most of the girls on the team participated in track during the spring where they also enjoyed success. Annie Brekken and Kaytlyn Larson, now freshmen, both participated in the state track meet last spring as distance runners.

The girls also worked out over the summer, pushing themselves and each other to shave valuable seconds off their running time.

“We built ourselves up to get to a good running level that we can all run at,” Captain Katie Trone said. “We worked hard on our speed and endurance during the summer.”

But too much work can overload an athlete. One of the challenges that coach Just will face will be to regulate energy output to make sure the girls are in their best running state.

“Some of the girls are very motivated and disciplined and may want to do more,” Just said. “But you have to hold them back at certain times during the season so we are at our very best going into sections.”

Another one of the biggest challenges for any high school team is staying healthy throughout the season. Getting 1,800 students in one place always brings the potential for sickness, which can hold back any high school athlete.

Coach Just talks to the team regularly about nutrition and staying hydrated. The girls also take ice baths after hard runs and stretching is also stressed to the squad.

If the team can stay healthy, all of the pieces are in place for the squad to get back to the state tournament and attempt to improve on last year’s third place finish.

Their first meet is on September 2 at Eagan High School at 3:30 p.m.