Antioch girls cross country competed in their first conference meet on Tuesday, September 13 against Lakes Community High School and Round Lake High School. Antioch lost to Lakes, but defeated Round Lake. Sophomore Natalie Hill placed 3rd overall, along with junior Jessica Lamberty, and senior Rylie Mercer also placing in the top ten.

Miranda Morrow, senior, is a runner on the Antioch girls cross country team.

“As a whole, I’m proud of my team today,” Morrow said. “Lakes is a tough team, but I think we really pushed ourselves today and closed some of the gap that separated us from Lakes.”

The overall takeaway from the meet was positive. The girls beat Round Lake; they are happy about that, but to beat teams like Lakes, Morrow believes they still have more to work on.

“Coach Bailey mentioned after the meet that we need to be more strategic and I agree with him,” Morrow said. “Cross country is more than just running as fast as you can for three miles. If we begin to run these races in a more strategic manner, we will really begin to see the results we have been working toward.”  

Morrow is a first year cross country runner, and already feels close to her team that continue to encourage her.

“A major strength I’ve noticed while on the team is that everyone is really encouraging to one another,” Morrow said. “Whether it’s a race day or just practice. I never go a day without hearing ‘Good job’ or ‘Keep up the good work’ in cross country. I think that’s really important because something as simple as words of encouragement can really help you to push yourself and demonstrate that you always have more you can give. It feels like one big family and I’ve never felt so close to a team as I do in cross country.”

The team has continues to improve throughout the season. Morrow believes that that will continue to happen, and Antioch will be a team to watch.