Due to changes within the team, the start of each high school sports season can look different. This year, however, with minimal changes to adjust to, the Yutan cross country team has started their season strong.
“Audrey (Dieckman) has medaled at every single meet, always being top five. Among the boys, Caleb (Popken) medaled at three meets, and then Eli (Kult) medaled at two,” head cross country coach Joel Carrillo said. “The girls got a second-place plaque. The boys got third at our latest meet, so we were close to placing a plaque.”
The coaches have even seen improvement among non-placers.
“Maddie Ledden has gotten a lot faster over the last year. She’s consistently running way better times than last season,” Carrillo said.
To help them achieve this success, the athletes on the cross country team train in the off-season.
“Outside of cross country, I lift and do plyometrics to help my speed increase,” junior Eli Kult said.
With their strong training, the cross country team hopes to continue reaching the goals they have set, personally and as a team.
“We have kind of just set the goal to push each other to the best of our ability that we can while also making it an enjoyable experience,” Kult said.
The runners often base their individual goals on past performances.
“My goal this season is to hit consistent 20 minutes. and definitely making it to state again,” sophomore Audrey Dieckman said. ”I plan to accomplish that by running the hardest in practice and seeing how much I can improve in the races.”
One of the things Carrillo likes to emphasize is using their mindset to persevere during long, hard races.
“They run their race and then, with a mile left, they start crying that their ankles hurt,” Carrillo said, but he pushes them to “just keep going. Be tough.”
Coaches and teammates are a good source of motivation for the athletes when they are in long races.
“My motivation is Caleb Popken and Coach Carrillo because during races you can hear Carrillo cheering for you and trying to get you to push yourself,” Kult said. ”Caleb, I just know we need to stick together, and when he is ahead, I know I need to push to get to him.”
The best moments so far this season for the cross country team have not just been winning but also the team and the atmosphere.
“My favorite moment of this year was probably the morning breakfast last week after a run on Saturday because we just had a great time eating, talking and just having fun,” Kult said.
As they reach the last part of their season, the team plans to continue having fun and working hard to achieve the goals they have set.
“The work is done. We are just trying to get to the end of it. We’re all trying to have fun,” Carrillo said.
