The Edmond Memorial High School girls cross country team served up a winning run at their Mustang Night meet. The girls varsity and junior varsity teams ran the meet on Saturday, Aug. 31, both won their races as a team.
This meet was the second meet for the team this season, the first being the Deer Creek Invitational, but the Mustang meet was unlike any other. It is a night meet, meaning the runners raced in the dark under the lights while the drumline played.
Head coach Ansen Covin has been coaching the EMHS girls cross country team for four years and has been head coach for two of those four years. He took the varsity team of six freshman and one junior to Mustang, and despite all odds, they won. He had a strategy to make this happen.
“At any point in the race where you are starting to get tired, focus on the next person ahead and [ask yourself] ‘Can I get to them before the finish?’” Covin said.
For Bailey Dunn, a freshman running on varsity, it was her first time running at a high school meet. She broke the 21-minute barrier, making her one of the seven total Memorial freshmen to ever break that time.
“I was pretty proud of myself and the accomplishment of my time during the race since high school cross country is so a big change,” Dunn said.
Another runner who performed well during the Mustang meet is freshman Lauryn Kreps. She ran for JV during the meet and placed first in the race, which aided the team in winning the overall race. She uses a specific mentality to finish the race with a successful time.
“It really helps me, to keep my eyes up instead of down and watch the jersey in front of me to spot who I need to pass next,” Kreps said.
Covin advises all the girls to use this method to improve their place in the race and help contribute to the whole team’s placement. It is important to him that the girls continue to do well throughout the whole season to ready them to compete in higher-level races, such as regionals and state.
They have been putting in hard work, and every runner shows up to practice every day. This determination showed during the race when the runners started their season on July 15.
“We have been putting in hard work in the heat and the early mornings, keeping the competitive edge,” Covin said. “If all that happens, the rest will take care of itself, and that showed during Mustang.”
For the remainder of their season, they will keep improving their running and times in an attempt to win at state. The ending of the season and final race is Nov. 2, and they are planning on going out with strong personal records, amazing finishes and a good placing as a team.
Contact Anna Vitiello at [email protected]
