Emily continues to run and run and run with her cross country team. Over the last few weeks they have participated in three championship meets and performed really well.
The first championship meet was the Region meet at the American West Heritage Center. This is Emily's favorite course and she was excited to see how well she could do. Her team also wanted to do well because the results of this meet determined which teams would go to Divisionals.
The team's goal was to stay together as much as possible and push each other to do their best. Of course Lilly was way out in front but the rest of the girls were pretty close to each other. This worked well in their favor and they were really strong at the finish.
Emily did amazing in this race. She was able to get her PR for the season in this race. She finished with a time of 22:08! I know she really wanted a 21 minute time but she was pretty dang close with this one. I think its pretty amazing! She also finished 4th on the team and was able to score some points for the team. Both the boys team and the girls team did really well and qualified for the Divisional.
The Divisional meet took place a week later at Lakeside Sports Park in Orem. This was a huge race that involved almost every high school in the state. The Mountain Crest team competed against the other 4A schools in the first division. There were 15 teams racing together and they needed to place in the top 10 to qualify to run at State.
This was a rough course for everyone. The weather was great but the course was slick grass and the finish line was really long. Emily did well running a 22:54. She was disappointed in her time but was still able to finish 50th overall and 4th on her team. Even with the slower times, Mountain Crest was able to place 8th and qualify for State! The boys' team also qualified for state so we will be heading to Sugar House Park in a couple weeks. Nice job!
The State Cross Country meet was in Salt Lake at Sugar House Park. This course has been the State course for many, many years, even when I was in high school. It is also a rough course because there are so many grass hills. Thankfully though, the weather was good and it wasn't raining. It seems like every State Meet I have been to it is raining.
Emily was excited and really nervous to run in this race. Last year she went as an alternate but this year she was actually running at State!
Emily did really well. This race was hard for Emily. She really had to focus on doing her best. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th place girls on the team were able to stay together the whole time and then they finished within seconds of each other. Emily was 5th on the team securing the final team score. She finished with a time of 22:47. She said it was not her best time and she was a little disappointed after her race especially after her coach congratulated everyone but her. Okay I was little mad at that too... Anyway I told her she did amazing and to not let other people make her feel any less. I told her that she needs to run for her and do the best she can and let everything else go. As long as she gave it her all, she should be proud. To even be able to run at State is a major accomplishment.
She felt a little better after that and she said this race she learned to focus on just running her best and having fun and not trying to please others. Way to go Emily!
Both the boys' and girls' teams did really well. They all ran their hearts out and were able to celebrate their victories afterward. Way to go Mountain Crest Cross Country!
A few weeks later, we all got to celebrate these athletes during the Cross Country Banquet.
Emily received a Varsity Letter certificate and was excited to celebrate with all of her friends. During the banquet her coaches praised her for being hard working, willing to do everything asked of her, and the one to get things done.
This has been a great cross country season. Emily has really improved a lot and made so many new friends. These kids are really great individuals and I am grateful for their good and lasting influence. We love Cross Country!
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