Sunlake’s very own girls cross country team just recently won their regional championship. This means that they are making their way up and heading to states. Senior Abigail Williams is one of the dedicated members of the cross country team who is feeling the pressure of having to attend states yet another year. “States is always very nerve wracking because there are very high stakes. The competition is strong. All the top teams are targeting each other, trying to place as high as they can,” Abigail explained. There was a mixture of many different emotions at states, ranging from stress and fear to excitement and fun. Abigail had a great time knowing they had made it as far as they did and that she had such an amazing team that was coming along with her to states. “I was joking around with my team and even on the line when everything was serious. I was thinking of them and how I needed to race as best as I could for them,” she pointed out.
Cross country is very important to Abigail. It holds a special place in her heart and she’d have to owe that to the amazing team and coach she’s been with since joining her freshman year.” Being on the cross country team is like having a whole second family. All the girls get along and we’re all like sisters. I love the talks we have at practices and the talks we get to have on runs. I also love my coach, I’ve known him for years now and I really trust him and his training.” The feelings were bittersweet though, as this is Abigail’s final year doing states. She’s been to states every year ever since she joined cross country as a freshman. “Coach Reeves would come out to talk to the Rushe Middle School runners all the time. He would go on this spiel about how great his team was and introduce us to all his fastest runners. I wanted to be just like them. It’s crazy because I guess I am just like them now.” She’s very proud of the improvement she’s seen over the years; being able to lead her team to a states runner up finish this year and place 14th at states. When she was a freshman she ran a 21 minute 5k and just recently she was able to drop her time down to 18:39. “It’s cool because if you place in the top 15 you get the title of an “all state athlete” and now I have that title.”
With all the success Abigail has been facing, it would be expected that she’s planning on running after she graduates, and that’s exactly what she’s doing. Excitedly, she shared, “I am planning on running in college. Right now I’m being recruited by several colleges, but I haven’t committed yet. I’m excited to see where my running journey will take me.” For now, Abigail is proud of all of the effort and proud work she has put into cross country to get her to where she is now. In the end, she explained that she is “…going to miss it a lot, but I’m happy it was so great this year while it lasted.”
