Despite Not Scoring For Team, Alternate Runners Play Important Role
On Waynesburg University’s women’s cross country team there are 23 runners.
In a race, less than half of those runners impact the team’s placement, with only the top five to seven, depending on the race, on the team’s overall score.
Yet, regardless of placement, the runners outside of the top seven continue to put their best efforts towards every practice and meet due to the family environment, said head coach Chris Hardie.
“[The runners] get wrapped in early during camp week,” said Hardie. “They find that through team builders, and just team activities, that this team would do anything for each other – that really is what draws this team together is that they don’t want to let anybody down. Even if they are 23rd, they still want to perform at a high level and show the team they aren’t letting up on the family and that they have their back.”
For the team, having the strong group dynamic is vital, said senior Jess Bish.
“It’s important to have that family feel because you are together so much, and it just gives you more of a reason to compete,” said Bish. “It makes it more enjoyable if you like the people you are with and I think the cross country team does a really great job of that.”
For junior Becky Marchetti, the team dynamic uplifts her to stay with the team, even during the most difficult challenges.
“Cross country is probably the toughest thing I’ve probably ever had to do,” said Marchetti. “Having that family, like my second family home away home, is so important because there are a lot of practices where I just want to give up… There are girls who can just pick you up and just remind you of how valuable you are and how important what you are doing is and where that can lead.”
Even outside of the top seven, Hardie said there are important leaders on the team. Bish, whose injuries have prohibited her from making it into the top seven, has had a large impact on the team, Hardie said.
“We had a great captain, [Bish], that never really had a score for us – always had some tough times with injuries,” said Hardie. “Behind the scenes, she was a fabulous leader, did everything we asked her to do, kept the team in check, had kind of a motherly – just grace about her that the team really respected. [The team] would have gone to battle for her just because of her reputation and the respect that they had.”
Bish said that her injuries have made it difficult to be a part of the team, but it does not prohibit her from encouraging her teammates on during the season.
“It’s really frustrating coming to practice every day and not being able to participate, especially since this was my second year in a row not being able to participate in practice,” said Bish. “There’s a reason that I show up every day and it’s the guys and the girls on the team that make me want to keep coming back.”
Each runner on the team, and typically those farther back in the pack, Hardie said, has a different reason for running.
“There is a group of girls, that’s probably like 10, that you have to keep motivated – they have a different reason for running,” said Hardie. “Each one of them is a little bit different. Some of them are seniors that, when they came into the program they might have [finished] seven or 10, but for whatever reason have slipped [in position] because an injury or classes got really heavy or freshman have come in each year and knocked them back a little bit.”
Outside of not letting the team down, Bish said motivation lies in the personal achievements or improvements on the team.
“One of the things we try and focus on with the people who maybe aren’t at the front is that they are still improving and it’s really exciting whenever they beat their own time,” said Bish. “That’s really what we focus on with the people who are farther in the back. It’s more about encouraging their personal efforts.”
With the recent title at the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships, Bish said each of the 23 runners on the team earned the victory. Through Bish’s past four years with the program, she said one of the biggest things she’s realized is the significance each runner holds.
“I learned a lot about patience, but more importantly, how every person, whether it’s a team or a project or something, how important every person is,” said Bish. “Whether you are the first runner or the last runner, everybody matters, and I think that’s something I’ve really taken away from this program.”