“Pack” Strategy Helps Girls Cross Country Win Districts

Addy Smith and Lottie Gidal|October 21, 2016

The Girls Cross Country team came into the District meet with a plan in mind. The pack-oriented strategy worked, securing the title of District champion and qualifying the team for the State Meet for the twenty-ninth consecutive year.

“Tom and Thos both wanted me to stay back in the beginning, a little behind the leaders, and then at the one-and-a-half mile to run up behind Mary and stay on her shoulder,” said Anna Lindower ‘19.

Anna Lindower was City High’s second runner, securing third place, just .76 seconds behind City’s lead runner and District champion, Mary Arch ‘17.

“I think [that plan] went pretty well. The lead pack went out a little slower, so then the coaches were telling us to start moving up,” Lindower ‘19 said. “I was a little off of the lead pack, but then I stuck with them, and then I thought that I could keep up with Mary, so I went for it.”

“Tom had a plan. He told me I need to run with Emily [Bywater] as long as I could. Once I got to a certain point I figured out that what I could do was a lot more than I thought,” Bridget Brown ‘18 said.

All of City High’s top five runners were within the top 15, and the team ran an average time of 18:54.

“I wanted to see [the girls] improve upon their performances from the last two weeks. Lots of people think of cross country as many individuals out running, at the same time,” Coach Thos Trefz said. “Anyone who has actually done it knows that when you have a teammate beside you that gives you so much more power.”

“One of the things we talked about in the huddle before hand was how our t-shirts say “We not Me”, and how to relate that to running near somebody, versus running with somebody. Running with somebody gives you so much extra energy,” Trefz said.

The State Cross Country meet will be held next Saturday, October 29th, in Fort Dodge. Equipped with four returning members, the team hopes to improve upon last year’s fourth place finish.

“I hope the girls run their best race of the year [next Saturday at State]. Wherever that puts us, whether it’s on the balcony, or looking up at the balcony,” Trefz said. “I think running an even better race than the one we ran last night gives us as good of a chance as anybody, with the exception of Johnston, who has a great chance of being on the balcony, of being up there.”