Windermere High School girls cross country off to fast start

The Windermere High School girls cross country team is much more than just a team — it’s a family. 

For senior Lauren Minor, 16, this was the main aspect that  kept her on the team throughout her high school career.

“I just love the family,” she said. “I feel like over the last four years that I’ve been here, these people haven’t just been teammates, they’ve been my friends, my sisters. I feel like this is my family, and I love coming to practice every day and being a part of it.” 

The Wolverines’ cross country family comes from many different cultures and backgrounds, and sophomore Ava Lack, 15, loves it. 

“I love that cross country is not just one culture, it’s a mix of things,” she said. “You can learn so much about different people and their culture just by being on a team with them and hearing different things about them, because we are very communicative and we love to talk about things from each other’s culture and be open to all the different ones.” 

Despite being a team sport, though, cross country can push each athlete individually. This is one of the aspects sophomore Charlotte Dudek, 16, appreciates most.

“The best thing is that it is more individual,” she said. “You are not always racing against other people; you are racing against the clock and racing against yourself. The only person standing in your way between you and your goal is yourself — and how much you want it. It’s just all about hard work.” 

One of the things the girls have learned from their head cross country coach, Jason Greer, is to think about the legacy they are leaving behind once they graduate. 

“If we all progress, we could work together as a team to knock out the other girls and the other teams from the competition and to really solidify our legacy,” senior Madeleine Empric, 17, said. “Coach Greer always (asks), ‘What is your legacy?’ So we can really show everyone who comes after us that we were good (and) prove that we have what it took.” 

“What I want to continue (in this program) is to continue (the legacy from the previous coaches) and have these girls create their own,” Greer said. “The legacy of commitment, dedication and making sure they are there for one another and to really try to do their best each time they are on the course.” 

Sophomore Isabelle Christensen, 15, joined the team this year and hopes to be able to help the Wolverines in future meets by becoming faster practice after practice. 

“(I’m working) on pacing and breathing and also working on stride,” she said. “I’d like to run my best in every meet — that’s the best way to help this team, and by pushing each other at practice.” 

Trust among the athletes also is key.

“We don’t necessarily care about spacing out,” Greer said. “We care about being fit. We care about managing the course. We care about understanding our competition so that when there’s time to run super fast, we scaffold into where they can reach PRs at the most optimum time.” 

Freshman Lauren Ikeda, 14, and junior Lilah Kohlbacher, 16, enjoy the fitness aspect of the sport and how goals are definite, not abstract, which makes their time goals easier to achieve with hard work and dedication. 

This year, the team still is facing some hardships related to COVID-19; it has not been able to reach the numbers it had prior to the pandemic. 

“It is (still) limiting the amount of participation, so the bodies that we have are down,” Greer said. “But the bodies that we have out there, they are collectively coming together to be cohesive, which is the most important.” 

The girls, and their coach, all have one common goal in mind — to make it to states. 

“If we all work together and keep a positive mind(set) and a positive attitude, we can really make it far,” Lack said.