Over the past six years, the cross country team has seen runners come and go, coaches change, a co-op with Mead, new courses, meets won and lost, but there is one face that has been constant: senior Bryce Kolc, who has been a member of the team since seventh grade.
Kolc first decided to do cross country from family members recommending it and saying he would do well.
“My mother thought I would get smashed like a pancake if I tried football. So, that was the main thing, I got it recommended to me,” said Kolc.
Kolc enjoyed running in junior high and was excited to continue it in high school.
“I was able to get to know everyone on the team better by the end of my eighth-grade season,” Kolc said.
Kolc’s freshman year, he was able to run for varsity and has been part of the varsity team ever since.
“It’s pretty neat because I’ve been on the big main team for all four years of high school,” Kolc said.
Even though Kolc is the only Yutan senior on the cross country team this year, he hasn’t always been the only runner in his grade.
“When I started, there were multiple people in my grade that were doing cross country, and over the years it’s just it has dwindled. And now, it’s just me,” said Kolc.
Being the only senior, Kolc is stepping up to take on a leadership role for the team, which is also helping him with his confidence.
“I always had someone that I could look to for answers and they would tell me what I could do to improve. And now that it’s my responsibility, I’ve had a mindset change,” said Kolc.
Kolc’s leadership style is to help when needed but otherwise let his teammates do their own thing.
“I mostly try to give advice and keep people focused; otherwise I try to let them do what they do,” Kolc said.
Every team needs a leader, and luckily for Kolc, his teammates say good things about his leadership.
“He’s a good leader because he has a lot of experience,” said sophomore Madi Ledden.
Cross country coach Joel Carrillo also says that Kolc is contributing to the team since Carrillo is “out of commission” due to his Achilles injury.
“He gives guidance on the trails we run or the courses we run and helps guide everybody this year,” said Carrillo. “He is taking much more of a leader position.”
There are many goals Kolc has achieved and hopes to achieve during his high school career. Kolc has been able to place at varsity meets and run under 20 minutes, but the big goal for Kolc is making it to state.
“I hope I can qualify individually for state,” said Kolc. “But if we could get a team to go to state, that would be pretty cool.”
Whether he hits his final goal or not, cross country has made a large impact on Kolc and has made him a different person.
“Being on that team, interacting with those people, it’s been great. It’s always a fun time with Carrillo, since he came,” Kolc said. “If I didn’t do cross country, my life would be significantly different.”
