Timm returns for season success

Mckenna Jones|October 4, 2022

For the Yutan Cross Country team, it is hard to have good leadership when there are only three seniors on the team. However, while senior Nolan Timm stepped away from cross country for a year to try football, he is excited to be back as a leader on this year’s team.

Senior Nolan Timm maintains his pace while running at the Yutan cross country invite. This is Timm’s third year on the cross country team. (Alexis Pehrson)

“With the new coaching situation, I really liked what I heard from previous seniors from the year before about what Carillo and Zabrocki had been doing,” said Timm. “It really intrigued me to do cross country another year.”

Timm’s return has brought a close bond throughout the team. 

“Nolan has an outgoing personality,” said head coach Natalie Zabrocki. 

“He is willing to share and talk at practice or meets, which is nice when you have some younger, newer kids, especially since we practice with the middle school. It’s that camaraderie aspect where he’s willing to talk to his teammates and is willing to open up that conversation, have the other kids participate and have a little fun.”

With there being only three seniors on the team, Timm has had to step up as a leader.

“Nolan is currently our top runner and there are kids who get better to run with him. He leads at practice by example in terms of doing the workouts to the best of his ability and pushing himself,” said head coach Natalie Zabrocki. “When you have your top seniors and your top runners doing what they’re supposed to be doing, it trickles down and falls with the rest of the team as well.”

Timm hopes to improve his running technique so he can qualify for state. 

“I think I have a chance at qualifying [for state]. I just need to improve, especially when it comes to certain aspects of running,” Timm said.

Timm also has a team goal.

 “I would like us to try to compete and make it to state,” said Timm. “We have a really hard district this year, but we have about three guys that have a chance at being in that top twenty, top twenty-five range. But I think we have a chance at least at being competitive in districts.”

Whether the goals get achieved or not, the team is glad to have Timm back. 

“It’s great to have Nolan back on the team,” said Zabrocki. “He’s done really well since he’s been back. It’s great to have a good athlete and runner back on the team. It’s also good to have some senior leadership.”