A Group AAA All-State finisher in cross country, indoor, and outdoor track last year as a sophomore, Bailey Kolonich of Robert E. Lee High School ('14) recalls her very first high school cross country race:
"The morning of my first race, the Great Meadows Invitational at The Plains, I realized that I didn't know whether I should be excited or nervous. So I asked my sister about racing and her comparison of racing to "dying for about twenty minutes" didn't inspire much confidence. But on the starting line I just remembered my coach's advice to just have fun and run fast. So when the gun went off I followed his directions a little too well and sprinted out way too fast.
At 1.5 miles, my legs were dead and I realized I was only halfway done. I was telling myself I would never race again, questioning why I did cross country, and wondering why hills existed. But my teammates cheering for me all over the course inspired me not to give up and walk whic...