Girls’ cross country: co-captain motivates team

“Keep it up! No walking!”

Junior co-captain Christine Schlossareck shouted encouragement to the girls’ cross country team as the 30 girls inched up the 45-degree hill on Upper Hill Drive, tired and sweaty, on Sept. 5. Though she is about only 5 feet tall, Schlossareck is a big presence on the team, and her cheers motivated teammates.

“Keep it up! No walking!”

After running the same steep hill many times over, most girls were too tired to continue. But even though Schlossareck was exhausted as well, she still had the energy to push her teammates.

Schlossareck began running cross country in sixth grade at Redwood Middle School, when she was looking for a new sport after stopping gymnastics because it was too much of a time commitment.

After suffering a knee injury last season, Schlossareck is aiming to avoid injuries and achieve a PR [Personal Record] at Crystal Springs, a dusty and hilly 2.95-mile course that is usually one of the most challenging meets. Her current PR is 20:13, which she achieved at the CCS Finals in November 2011.

“You start running down a hill [at Crystal], so you overexert yourself, but then you have to run back up it,” Schlossareck said. “It’s hard when you see people finishing [the race] and know you have a mile left.”

Although Schlossareck sometimes feels pressured to achieve personal bests at meets, she remains positive about races despite the outcome.

“If at the end of a race I know that I’m tired and that I worked [my] hardest, then I can feel good about [the race],” Schlossareck said.

Promoted to team co-captain last spring, Schlossareck is learning how to manage the team.

“Sometimes it’s hard [being co-captain], but it’s also really fun,” Schlossareck said. “[Co-captains seniors Casey Takahashi and Susanna Lee and I] try and get everyone organized [into running groups], which is the hard part, and we also relay Coach [Danny Moon]’s messages to the athletes.”

Moon called Schlossareck “a great leader” and added that She has shown remarkable improvement during the years with the team.

“She’s a very persistent runner and has just gotten faster and faster,” Moon said. “[This year] she’s learning the process of bringing a cohesive group together.”

Schlossareck’s enthusiasm encourages the rest of the team to try their best.

“She’s always the one walking down [the hill] and cheering for everybody else,” junior Carolyn Qi said. “She’s a really good supporter so she’s always really positive towards everybody.”