Cross country isn’t just like any running sport. Cross country involves running on trails and through woods, instead of being on tracks, roads and paths. Students develop fast stamina and get fit while doing this. When doing this, cross country kids also develop better agility. They say cross country keeps them in shape.
Senior Citlaly Sanchez, has had a lot of experience and has used her best abilities to be one of Warren Central’s best runners. She also makes a routine for herself to get prepared for her next meet. Usually on Mondays they have long runs and then on Tuesdays and Thursdays they have workouts.
According to Sanchez, she makes a routine for her meets in order to stay prepared and ready.
“I wake up an hour before,” she said. “I get everything laid out. I put it in my bag. I put my stuff on me that is like my sweatpants, my crocks and my sweater. I bring my bag with me because when I get to school I get my spikes and my running shoes. Then when we get in there they usually have breakfast laid out there. Then the moment I get on the bus we are almost always locked in too.”
She has inspired others and has had people inspire her as well, like her coach and her father.
“My dad would say something in between the lines of ‘She ain’t got much practice,’ and in that moment when I heard that it motivated me to go faster and pass my opponent, and I ran,” she said”
With that Sanchez ended up winning her inner squad meet.
She feels that Coach Miller has helped her a lot too.
“He has helped with especially with my freshman year,” Sanchez said. “He knew I was having trouble with food and loving it so it was a really dark. In the beginning but later on we both got comfortable.”
Coach Miller inspired Sanchez to do cross country and pushed her forward and to keep trying. It really moved her.
“He inspired me to join cross country my sophomore year, which helped me a lot during my junior year,” Said Sanchez, “I ended up cutting two minutes off during my sophomore year, which helped me reach my goal to cut off another two minutes. He's just an amazing and motivational coach.”
While a lot of grown ups have inspired her, Sanchez, having her ups and downs, tries hard as a runner herself to inspire others, like teammates Morgan Smith and Leila Fowler, to do the same thing and push just like her.
“She’s fun and super fast,” Smith said. “She gets serious when it comes to meets and workouts. However, she does have a fun side that is great to see.”
According to Smith, Sanchez is “one of the best” and makes her want to go faster.
“I want to win the awards she wins,” she said.
Junior Leila Fowler looks up to Sanchez when it comes to cross country. She said Sanchez laughs with the team and blasts Olivia Rodrigo music. Still, she says Sanchez is hardworking and comes to practice ready to give it her all.
"She never lets anything get to her," Fowler said. "When she’s running it doesn’t matter what else is happening around her or how her day was. She’s locked. Laly’s determination is what always inspires me. "
Fowler helps her teammates by motivating them just like Sanchez does for everyone else on her team.
“To anybody who’s struggling to do my sport but wants to keep going I’d say to look at where you started," Fowler said. "Sometimes it’s hard to see yourself getting better but when you look at how far you’ve come it’s a reminder to how much you’re capable of.”
Fellow teammate Morgan Smith has the same mindset as Fowler.
"Every mile you run today is a step closer to the strength you’ll have tomorrow," Smith said. "It's not about how fast you go, but how consistently you keep moving forward."