The 5 a.m. alarm rings – the sound waves bouncing from wall to wall in the darkness of her bedroom. 5:30 and the muggy morning air assaults her as she unlocks the car and begins driving to practice. Before most students on campus have even had their morning coffee, the girls cross country team is pounding pavement on McNeil Drive, their tired feet propelling them forward until the end of practice. Running: a laborious chore to some, but a gracious pleasure to others.
The girls cross country team started their season with a win at the Vista Ridge Invite and a third place finish at the Coach T Invitational. This success comes during a self proclaimed “transitional year” for the program: as a significant proportion of athletes are underclassmen on the varsity team in contrast to previous years. As the program transforms, juniors and seniors describe the commodore, leadership, and perseverance on the team.
“My favorite part of cross country is getting to do everything as a team,” junior Tibbie Mustacchia said. “You think cross country is an individual sport because you run your own races. But really, your team pushes you, cheers you on. You encourage everyone around you and I think that is very special.”
Mustacchia has been on the cross country team since freshman year, attending the 6A UIL State Championship race both her freshman and sophomore year. Mustacchia describes her excitement for the upcoming UIL season, starting with the 25-6A district cross country meet at Old Settlers Park on Oct. 9.
“Our biggest meet is districts,” Mustacchia said. “Districts is the biggest meet of the season, no matter how fast you are on the team you get put in a race. Everyone goes together and that’s a really cool experience.”
The girls cross country team is composed of over 30 different athletes. Oftentimes, due to the size of the team, although the girls may practice together, the team is divided for races. Despite this, junior captain Madison Brooks describes the supportive, uplifting atmosphere in the organization.
“I think the support on the team is great,” Brooks said. “Every girl on the team this year really loves being there and [they] want to support each other. They want to support each other as much as they want to be supported.”
As mentioned previously, despite the solo activity of running, cross country is an interconnected team sport with runners winning accolades not only for their own performance, but also for the performance of the overall team. For Brooks, she details how the support of the team has helped her through a personally challenging start to the season.
“This year for me hasn’t started out very strong,” junior Madison Brooks said. “I’ve been dealing with some recurring injuries that I had from previous years, and I’m trying to be better about my nutrition. It hasn’t been the best start, but I’m hoping to finish strong.”
As expressed by members of the program including athletes and coaching staff – this year for the girls cross country team is a transitional season as an older generation of athletes leave and fresh faces enter the squad. The growth in underclassmen varsity participation on the team has inspired senior captain Cate Cloran to take initiative as a leader.
“[As a captain], I try to keep everyone motivated,” Cloran said. “Sometimes it is very hard to show up at 6 a.m every single day of the week and I just try to keep everyone happy.”
Captains Cloran and Brooks guide the team through workouts and run the bigs and littles program for the organization. The responsibility of captain is something that neither Brooks nor Cloran take lightly, serving as guides for the younger members of the team. Brooks chronicles her experience as captain during this season.
“My favorite part this year has been being a captain,” Brooks said. “I am not just focused on my own individual experience, but on the team I get to guide younger girls and help them have the best possible season. It makes running something more than just exercising.”
Consistency is the cornerstone of cross country running. The girls cross country team practices every morning before school begins and puts in extensive mileage towards their improvement. Consistency is also important to Cloran, who noticed an overall drop in attendance of upperclassmen in the organization and strived to do better.
“I like to set an example of always doing my workouts because freshmen can see that and realize how important it is to stay consistent with the sport to get better.” Cloran said.
Not only for consistency, the upperclassmen and captains on the team work to maintain positive throughout the highs and lows of the exhausting season.
“[As a captain], I try to keep everyone motivated,” Cloran said. “Sometimes it is very hard to show up at 6 a.m. every single day of the week and I just try to keep everyone happy.”
In this transitional year, the girls cross country team hopes to thrive through the change. For many varsity juniors and seniors used to running with the same people, the change of vibe is refreshing. Brooks details the excited energy within the program as new athletes enter and old runners graduate.
“I think it’s really exciting to have new girls on the team,” Brooks said. “The last two years it has been the same people over and over again that were always our top runners. It’s really cool to see people that have put in hard work finally get that spot on the team. Everyone’s really excited to get points.”
