Her shoes pounded against the track. The finish line was a hundred meters away. She heard footsteps behind her and picked up her pace, racing her opponent. As the line got closer, they sped up, going faster and faster. She crossed the line, barely ahead of the other runner, and slowed to give her tag to the volunteers. They handed her a medal, and she realized she’d placed twelfth. Her teammates came to congratulate her and compare medals before cheering on other racers.
Eighth-grader Vivian Beeby started her first year of cross country after running long distance in track last year. After only three meets, she has already met her season goals.
“I want to get a fifteen-minute two-mile and get in the top fifteen.” eighth-grader Vivian Beeby said.
By Beeby’s third meet, she placed twelfth place with a time of 13:30. While some runners have specific goals like Beeby, some have less concrete goals.
“My personal goals were to beat most of the eighth graders on the team,” seventh-grader Maddox Murry said.
Murray is well on his way to meeting his goal. Whether they’ve reached their goals or not, many runners feel good about this season.
“This year is way better, I’ve gotten a much better stride and speed,” seventh grader McKinley Walton said.
