Injuries challenge all athletes at some point in their careers. All one can hope for is a short recovery period. Junior co-captain Courtney Schlossareck has been hoping for a quick recovery since sustaining a knee injury during the 2010 cross country season.
Schlossareck opted for knee surgery, sidelining her for the entire 2011 track season. Although the surgery took place four months ago, the recovery process has been taking more time than expected.
“I got knee surgery last June and I was hoping that I would be fully ready for this year’s season,” Schlossareck said. “I didn’t expect it to take this long, but I am working my hardest to make sure I train as much as I can while still making sure I don’t overwork my knee.”
For Schlossreck to be eligble to run at CCS (she was not able to run last year due to her injury), she must participate in at least two of the regular season’s four cluster races, and risk putting more stress on her knee.
“The league requires runners to run in a certain number of races in order to qualify for CCS,” Schlossareck said.
Crystal Springs is a 3.1 mile race, notorious for its agonizing hills, yet Schlossareck had to participate in it on Oct. 6 since it is a league meet and not a scrimmage like most of the other races the cross country team runs.
“I didn’t run [Crystal Springs] for time,” Schlossareck said. “I wanted to make sure my knee didn’t give out, so it was more of a workout than a race.”
With the girls’ varsity roster not completely finalized, the team will count on Schlossareck to be well in time for CCS. Her return would bolster the already veteran-laden roster and give the team a better chance at qualifying for the state race. Not only does the rest of the team look up to Schlossareck as a runner, but they also look up to her for upbeat attitude and willingness to help others.
“[Schlossareck] has always been a good runner,” said junior Maya Nag, Schlossareck’s teammate for the past two years. “She always remains positive and encourages us to run our hardest.”
While the team counts on Schlossareck, the underclassmen heavy team is still uncertain about its varsity roster.
“We have a lot of very qualified runners,” Schlossareck said. “The only issue is there is a huge gap between the veteran varsity runners and the newer runners.”
In order for any team to do well, it is more beneficial when the team members all have similar times, earning the team more points and bettering their ranking.
As the Falcons continue to diminish this gap, the team can only hope Schlossareck will be running her hardest, come CCS at the end of November.
