Cross-Country Season Recap

Waukee Northwest’s boys and girls cross-country teams have had an exceptional season this year. Both teams have set records, competed against and defeated the best teams in the state and have come out of the season stronger mentally and physically. 

Many people have heard of the sport of cross-country, but don’t know what it is. To the outside world, it can seem like a group of people who run for fun in a bunch of cornfields. And although some of that may be true, there is a lot more that goes into becoming a great runner and teammate. To be a great cross-country runner, students need to have a lot of determination, be consistent and know how to push their limits. Cross-Country practice can vary from fast, short, multiple-rep sprints to mile repeats. Sometimes coaches incorporate hills or cross-training, such as biking or treadmill running. Another huge part of becoming a good runner that can be easily overlooked is recovery. Having the right amount and type of recovery can set people apart from the competition. Cross-Country is also known as one of the best team sports out there. Kellan Croatt, a sophomore, stated, “My favorite part of cross-country is the team culture, you can’t find that in any other sport.” Some crazy fast times have been laid out this season with some Northwest all-time bests coming from multiple athletes on both the boy’s and girl’s sides.

The head coach for the girl’s XC team is Pete Westerkamp. He also participates in coaching sprints on the girl’s track team and teaches PE at Prairieview. On the boy’s side, Terrence Nielsen is the head coach. He also teaches at Prairieview and coaches distance on the track team. State qualifiers occurred on Oct 19th. The boy’s cross-country team won their state qualifying meet. The top 7 runners will go on to compete at state. Zach Janulewicz, a sophomore, stated, “I am really proud of our team this year, we had a great season.” On the girl’s side, Lillian Sundet and Finley Habgood qualified individually, so they will go on to run at state. Lillian Sundet, junior, stated, “I PRed at state qualifiers, so that was a cool experience.” The state cross-country meet is on October 29th. Overall, cross country is a mentally and physically tough sport, but to the people that run it, it’s always worth it in the end.