The cross country team is starting the season strong with top runner Robbie Davidson, a freshman runner on the varsity team.
He loves running and has amazing endurance; Davidson has gotten first place in the past two races. He ran a 19.22 minute race on the 3 mile course for a first place win against Colfax.
The team practices and excels Monday through Friday with Coach Skyler Mousley. Davidson gave some insight on his reasons for joining the team.
“[I chose cross country as my sport] because it feels good to run,” Davidson said.
At practice, Davidson gives it his all, and at times conditions separately from the team.
“[I practice at home] every now and then; only on the weekends,” explained Davidson.
Davidson expressed his enthusiasm for being the top runner as a freshman.
“It’s kind of exciting,” he said. “It’s a good feeling.”
Assistant coach Katherine Pistenti mentioned Davidson’s incredible running skills and the future prospects for his running career.
“Robby has tons of potential,” said Pistenti. “And sometimes I don’t even think he knows it. He is so dedicated to what he does. He goes out and if he’s not impressed with his running or with his times, he will redo the workout.”
But even as the top cross country runner, Davidson gets anxious before his big races. He explained how he felt during the Colfax meet.
“[Before a race I feel] nervous. Pretty nervous,” Davidson admitted.“I feel okay about [the Colfax meet]. I kept the endurance up and I stayed at a steady pace.”
Senior Eli Funk shared his thoughts about Davidson.
“I love Robbie,” Funk stated. “Robbie is a great runner and I think he will continue to improve.
Davidson conveyed his incentive for doing well at meets.
“[My motivation to race is] to be better than next time and to push myself,” Davidson said. “I will also try to get a faster time [in the future].”
Funk was previously the top runner in cross country, but Davidson proved to be even faster.
“I think it’s great that he is doing better than me,” said Funk. “I like cross country, but I’m just doing it for myself, and I think it’s cool that we can actually have people that are competitive for first place and we can win meets now.”
Davidson stated his goals for the season.
“I hope to keep getting better form and having more endurance,” he explained. “Just feeling better mentally before races.”
Coach Pisenti conveyed her confidence that Davidson will continue to improve.
“He puts in the time, he puts in the effort and I think he’s gonna go far with that,” Pisenti said.
-Maya Bussinger contributed to this report
