A new generation of runners is preparing to follow in the footsteps of Wrangell High School’s state championship-winning cross country team. For the first time this fall, a middle school team will lace up their sneakers and get ready to race.
Laura Davies, a teacher at Stikine Middle School, is organizing and coaching the program. She hopes that it will support the existing high school team by improving young runners’ endurance and preparing them to race at the regional level once they become freshmen.
“If you look long-term, we have a high school champion team,” she said. By starting runners out in middle school, she can “really (support) the high school program, like a feeder program.”
Davies spent the past few weeks attending high school team practices so that her middle school program will align with theirs.
During the pandemic, she started running with her students to help them bond with each other and focus during class. Then, these informal jogs turned into a yearlong afterschool running club. “I found that the kids really enjoyed it,” she said. “They were eager to show up, we had a lot of kids show up.”
The club helped get kids outside and exercising, while providing an opportunity for social interaction in the midst of COVID-related isolation.
Since then, Davies has worked to make a district-approved middle school cross country team a reality. “Moving forward, I wanted to establish this as a team … that has regular practices and can hopefully go to a meet,” she said.
The team’s first meeting was on Thursday, Aug. 24, and its first practice was on Monday, Aug. 28. The athletes will run three to four times a week and work toward a race at the end of the season in October — ideally, off the island, Davies said. She expects about 12 to 15 runners will participate and is happy to have parents and other community members run with the group.
Jenna Meissner, 12, has been practicing with the high school team for weeks and is also joining the new middle school program. “I like getting exercise,” she said, and is looking forward to running with people her own age so that she can “(get) better and better.”
In past years, she participated in Davies’ running club and plans to run for the high school once she’s old enough.
Though the team is sanctioned by the school district, it is not sponsored by it — 100% of the team’s funding will come from families, fundraising and community support. “A goal long term is, if there’s interest in this, to become a sponsored team,” Davies said. “Many schools in Southeast Alaska have a sponsored, funded cross country team” at the middle school level.
Students don’t need to prioritize running over their other sports to participate. Davies is working with the district’s many coaches to prevent practices from overlapping, and running is an excellent way to bolster cardiovascular health for swimming, basketball or wrestling. The team will focus on “getting (the runners) physically fit because a lot of these students are going into other sports,” said Davies. “It’s the first sport of the year.”
To sign up, students can email Davies at ldavies@wpsd.us or visit her classroom in person.
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