Running towards the finish, the Bowie cross country team concludes another one of their long and draining races. Their hard efforts have paid off with the team being ranked 15th in the state.
One of the multiple reasons Bowie cross country is incredibly strong is due to junior captain Griffin Hummel. Hummel currently holds the Bowie record for the cross country 5k with a time of 15:38. He expresses how this achievement has made him feel and grow as a runner throughout the upcoming season.
“I feel pretty good, it just feels really cool because my freshman year, the record holder Zach Munger, was a senior, and I looked up to him a lot,” Hummel said. “I thought it would be impossible to ever get those times, but now, just a couple years later, to be able to run those times too”
Hummel is incredibly proud of Bowie’s work and effort that has prevailed with them being one of the best. Hummel describes how he believes they will continue to grow and get better with experience.
“Last season, it was the first time guys made a state and we were definitely at the bottom of that state meet,” Hummel said. “Now that our feet are wet, I feel that we have a lot more room to improve and grow. And I think a lot of teams are going to underestimate us.”
To keep up his fitness and to help propel the team forward, Hummel does a lot of training, in school and out of school. He illustrates his rigorous training schedule he goes through during and out of cross country season.
“Most of my runs are with the school, but I do run with a club after school,” Hummel said. “During the season, I usually just run a couple times in the afternoon and then a couple times on the weekend. However, in the off season, I run a lot more with the clubs.”
Hummel isn’t the only powerhouse on the Bowie cross country team. Junior Micah McAulay is one of the top runners for the girls varsity team. McAulay also said she is very proud of how hard the team has been working to be one of the best in the state.
“I am always so happy about Bowie being 15th in the state,” McAulay said. “We worked so hard and trained for it and we all used up our last bit of energy for that very moment. We left it out there on the course.”
To continue Bowie’s dominance, McAulay has to continue to run and she does because she loves the sport. She explains the feeling she gets from running everyday.
“I run cross country because it always makes me feel satisfied afterwards,” McAulay said. “Even if it was a bad run I am happy to move my body and be with my friends all the time.”
McAulay is excited and ready about the season this year and would love to continue Bowie’s dominance for the next two years of her running career.
“I am planning on continuing the dominance for Bowie by always running my hardest,” McAulay said. “I will also continue to train well with my team and lift spirits.”
Junior runner Willa Bock thinks Bowie cross country is not like other schools and that’s how Bowie will continue their influence on the sport. She believes that the team’s dynamic is totally different from the other cross country teams in the state.
“I think we’re more fun than other schools,” Bock said. “A lot of times they look real serious on their warm up laps, having their headphones on and look locked in. We always walk the warm up lap and joke around with one another.”
Bock believes team bonding and chemistry is the most important component to a team’s success. She believes it brings up the hope and courage in the team and helps improve their running.
“Before the race we always huddle up and tell each other it’ll be okay and to always do our best,” Bock said. “We always try to finish in a pack together and we encourage one another throughout the race.”
Bock likes running for Bowie cross country a lot. She explains how it is a great way to get to know new people and start to form a big group of friends and how it helps her on and off the course.
“We all suffer through the same things and it makes us stronger together,” Bock said. “When we do all the running together it makes me feel accomplished in the morning, it feels like I have a better purpose for the day.”
