The PRs, medals, and the wins are what is seen when looking at a cross country athlete, but behind the scenes are the years of training, hard work, and failure that got them there. We got the chance to hear the stories of four athletes on the BBHHS Cross Country Team who told us about all of the struggles, failures, and reasons why they’ve persisted for so long.
Kyle Brown
The first interviewee was Kyle Brown, a senior who is leading the boys cross country team to victory using his insanely fast times and his accountability as a leader. He began his long running journey as a young child joining his local church’s cross country and track team.
“I ran for my church, it was CYO [Catholic Youth Organization] cross country and track, and this one guy was like, ‘Your kids would be good at it, you should put them in,’ so that’s how I started running,” he said. With such an early and successful start he was bound to be a standout runner by the time he made it to the high school team. Now he is a highly talented runner, constantly smashing his PRs and inspiring younger runners on the team to follow in his footsteps.
Brown explained that as a middle schooler, a friend coached him and inspired his love for running. To this day, this deep connection to the sport keeps him going even during the toughest of training days.
When asked about the thought of quitting, he said, “There’s definitely been many times, whether it’s after a bad workout, or not seeing progress, but I’ve just continued to stay, put in the work and know that, as this one kid on our team said, ‘Everyone is like a popcorn kernel and you all pop at different times, so wait for your kernel to pop.’” Lessons like these can be applied to various real world situations whether you’re an athlete or not.
Friendships and team bonding experiences have had a major impact on Brown’s commitment and, arguably, his success in the sport, as without the team he might not have ever found the love for the sport he has today. His cross country career has not only given him a love for running, but a group of inspirational and energetic people who he has made years of lasting memories with.
Not every race is perfect, as Brown told the stories of two incidents where he got trampled during a race. The first of which was at Cloverleaf Invitational, where a competitor came up beside him and pushed him over. The second was during a night race where a nearby runner tripped, fell, and took out Brown in the woods.
Both incidents must have been extremely scary and upsetting at the time they occurred, but when talking about them, Brown seemed amused by the events in hindsight. His story demonstrates how one race doesn’t define a person and how people can’t obsess over things out of your control, which is a problem many young athletes face.
Anna Brobst
Anna Brobst came onto the team as a sophomore with a talent for running. Now as a junior, she discussed her unusual start to the cross country team and her wildly successful story.
“I started running my sophomore year of high school because on August 2 I got cut from the volleyball team; I’d been playing that sport for seven years and it was actually heartbreaking,” she said. Brobst explained how her mom encouraged her to continue athletics and Brobst landed on cross country as her choice. “So I joined, and I’m so happy I did,” she expressed.
Even though Brobst had a later start to her running journey, she didn’t let it slow her down. At the Bruce Lerch Invitational, her second race ever, she chased the four wheeler straight to first place and won the open race with an impressive time of 23:05, a whole minute faster than second place. This was only the start to her impressive running journey as she is continuing, a year later, to smash her PRs.
“It’s been going better than expected. I’ve been working really hard all summer and I’m so excited to break twenty-one [minutes] and break my PR by almost one and a half minutes,” she told us. Not only is she excited about her progress, but also the growth of the team. Brobst and the rest of the girls team hope to be able to compete at regionals. They are working tirelessly everyday to prepare and qualify for the Regional meet on October 25th.
Lastly, Brobst gave her advice on how to start your running journey. She said, “To anyone who’s just starting would say that consistency is the key thing.” She explained that the sport is challenging but the PRs and the friends made along the way make it all worth it.
Shreyas Mahalaha
When speaking with Shreyas Mahalaha, a sophomore on the team, his love and passion for cross country was wildly apparent. As only a sophomore, he has managed to influence and inspire his teammates on the daily. His impactful leadership skills and positive attitude have benefitted the team ever since he began his running journey in the spring of seventh grade.
“I started running track in seventh grade because I was interested in doing a sport. I saw my friends were doing one, and I kind of wanted to find one and I felt like track was the easiest one to pick up,” he said. Once he began distance running his eighth grade year, he discovered a true love and appreciation for the sport that continues to this day.
When Mahalaha was given the opportunity to give advice to someone new to running he said, “Running may not be the most fun thing if your new to it, it certainly wasn’t for me, but stick it out because the friends that you make are really great, and the team is great, camp is great, pasta parties are great, meets are great, it’s like you really get a strong family through this.
Mahalaha stated that before a race he likes to mentally prepare. He said, “Everybody always talks about physically preparing, drinking lots of water, stretching, whatever, eating good food, but i’d say cross country is more mental than physical, and mentally preparing, you have to be like, ‘I can win this race.’” Mahalaha showed that cross country isn’t only a physical sport, but mental as well.
Ella Troike
Ella Troike, a freshman girl on the cross country team, is fairly new to the cross country, but has enjoyed her experience so far. She described how she started cross country in eighth grade to improve for lacrosse, however, she quit lacrosse soon after.“I started running to get in shape for lacrosse, but I quit lacrosse and now do cross country,” she explained.
Finally, when asked what her favorite moment from the cross country season was, she said, “Probably, the bus breaking down at twelve o’clock at night.” Troike saw this moment as an important moment in her cross country season due to it making the team closer and being an experience that really bonded the team together in many ways.
These experiences show that cross country isn’t just about running races and getting medals, it’s also about creating a sense of community and being a place where everyone is included.
