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The Purbalite

The student news site of Baldwin High School

The Purbalite

The student news site of Baldwin High School

The Purbalite

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Girls runners chase finish line

BY JULIE POWELL
Sports Editor

For years, the boys cross country team has ended each season with a winning season record. This, year for the first time in ten years, the girls have joined them.

“It had been years since we had a winning season, so it was a really big accomplishment,” senior Megan Varney said. “It wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work from the athletes and coaches.”

With a record of 6-2, the girls secured a winning season one meet before racing the final meet against their top rivals, Mount Lebanon.

“We have a group of girls who are hard-working and dedicated,” junior Steph Bott said. “We put forth the effort to do what we need to do.”

Early in the season, the top five girl runners, which includes Bott, were all within seconds of each other, a feat that is hard to do.

“What is really great is that the girls don’t care who is first. They push each other in practice and cheer each other on during meets,” Coach Rich Wright said.

Wright credits this accomplishment to strong team leadership. Junior Dennis Doyle, of the boys team, agrees.

“The seniors have come together as a single unit,” Doyle said. “There really isn’t one single leader.”

Bott recognizes the runner’s closeness as a reason for the success of the boys and girls teams.

 “The team is very close and co-ed,” Bott said. “When you run for 45 minutes together, eventually you start to talk and get to know each other.”

A new addition to the team is new coach, French teacher Kathryn Jarocki. She brings “a breath of fresh air to the team,” according to Wright.

Jarocki was a coach for the cross country and track teams at the school she taught at in Boston for three years.  She uses a hands-on approach when coaching, which involves going on practice runs with the team and participating in the same workouts they do.

“It helps me know where they are at physically, mentally, and as athletes,” Jarocki said.

Head coaches Wright and Bunny Schmidt, as well as the runners, accepted the new addition to workouts easily.

“It’s nice and really great to see a coach who suffers through our workouts with us,” Bott said.

The runners don’t just look to their coaches as motivation to reach their cross country goals. They see their coaches as a source of personal motivation in life.

Schmidt has faced cancer three times throughout her life. The most recent diagnosis was in 2012 when she developed stage four bone cancer.

 “Seeing Coach Jarocki’s baby in his little cross country uniform and learning from Coach Schmidt’s battle with cancer, we learn everyday just how precious each day is,” Wright said.

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