Making history, senior Shaylen Quinn becomes the fourth girl in Ottawa history to go to state for Cross Country. For only beginning in cross country since her sophomore year, Quinn has made the most out of it by qualifying individually for sectionals and state this year, winning county three years in a row with the rest of the girls team and placing in conference her junior and senior years, becoming an all-conference medalist.
Quinn ran a 19:16 and placed 25th in sectionals. This qualified her for state, putting her in the 5th spot individually. Quinn says that it has always been a dream of hers to go to state for running, a dream come true once she was able to go. “Each race, all the family members would be running from one place to the next just to cheer on the runners,” Quinn said. She describes the experience as exciting, with many people there to watch.
Cross-country coach Daniel Heaver was there to experience the state meet. He says that they were fortunate with the weather since it is usually hit-or-miss with this meet. They were lucky not to get stuck with the extremely muddy and wintry weather. Heaver also describes the environment of the meet and how it felt to be there. “When you go, you feel the historic nature of it all,” Heaver said.
Heaver admires Quinn as a person and as an athlete. He says that she is always putting in the work that needs to be done. She has amazing leadership skills and is always kind to others. “Whether it’s the newcomers or the seniors that she has to run with, she is just a great teammate,” Heaver said.
What does a cross-country runner do to prepare for big meets? For Quinn, the secret to success isn’t what you would think. It’s a tradition this year for her to eat a graham cracker before every race. In addition to this, Quinn tries to keep a positive mindset before meets, telling herself that it will be over before she knows it. “I usually listen to music on the bus for meets and use that to help me get hyped up and motivated to run,” Quinn said.
A downside to running cross country is the weather. The weather is not reliable, since it can be 90 degrees for one meet and 40 the next. Quinn said that when it’s cold, your muscles will freeze up, and when it rains, the course will get all muddy.
The best part of being on the cross-country team for Quinn is the team bonding. Obviously, they all run together, but they also do other team bonding activities. These include things like team dinners and taking fun trips together. They all support each other, which seems to bring them closer together as a team.
