On a cool fall night in Terre Haute, Indiana, nine of Prospect’s best female cross country runners lined up to race one of the most famous courses in the Midwest. As the live stream recording cart drove by, girls from many teams waved in excitement at the camera and to their other teammates, friends, or family members watching them from home.
Just moments later the deafening cheers went silent as the runners eagerly anticipated the starter’s commands for the race to begin.
“There is a lot more pressure, work, and commitment put into high school cross country, but that also comes with bigger rewards and better opportunities,” freshman Adelaide Galla said.
The Nike Twilight championship race, which took place on October 4th, is an opportunity like no other: high schoolers compete against elite athletes from all over the Midwest who they may have never gotten the chance to race otherwise. In addition to this, the meet takes place when it is completely dark outside, so this leaves runners to find their way under the lights.
Around 10:03 p.m. Prospect had their first finisher in the girls’ varsity race. Senior Meg Peterson finished in 11th place with a 5k time of 17:54. Shortly after, Galla finished in 27th place with a time of 18:27. The next two finishers were also freshmen, Caitlin Resac (18:50), and Brooklyn Stocking (18:56). Prospect’s fifth runner, Anna Zajac, was a few seconds behind Stocking, running a time of 19:03.
These girls led Prospect to a second place finish at Nike Twilight, beaten only by Carmel High School, Indiana’s best cross country team.
The impact of the Class of 2029 on Prospect cross country is evident, just two short months into the year. The Nike Twilight race was particularly special for freshmen Galla, Stocking, and Resac because it was their first time running varsity. Although their performances throughout this season have surely been enough to place them in the top seven of many cross country teams in the state, coach Pete Wintermute chose to have them race in the freshman/sophomore division for the majority of this season.
Galla said that despite never running varsity before, she went into Nike Twilight feeling prepared and confident in her training.
“As long as I run each race to the best of my abilities I will be satisfied with my performance. There is never any reason to not do your best under any circumstances,” said Galla.
This mantra has undoubtedly proven to be working during her successful season and demonstrated once again by being the second freshman finisher overall at Nike Twilight.
Not only have the freshmen had an immense impact on the team’s race performances but also on the general team dynamic. Although the freshmen are new to the program, they have quickly adjusted to the expectations that come with being a high school cross country runner. Some brand new routines for freshmen include lifting twice a week, riding the bus with the team to and from the Saturday meets, early morning practices, and countless more. Despite the fact that the freshmen have to adapt to an entirely new school and team they still manage to bring fun, laughter, and positive energy to practice every single day.
“More freshmen just means a bigger circle of encouragement and more people that can work together and form connections,” Galla said.
Many of the connections formed this season are between freshmen and upperclassmen, especially with so many freshmen and sophomores running in varsity races. Peterson has exciting goals for the team this season like earning a state trophy and qualifying for NXN (Nike Cross Country Nationals). However, the main focus is making sure the team is ready to run and compete as one unit at the IHSA state meet on November 8th.
“At the beginning of the year I was shocked when the freshmen said they wanted a trophy, but now we are one of the best teams in Illinois,” said Zajac (Senior).
As of last week, Prospect girls are ranked second in class 3A by Illinois Running News. The only team ranked ahead of Prospect is Barrington who are the defending state champions.
Zajac and Peterson have both been running cross country at Prospect since freshman year and say that the program’s emphasis on team bonding has remained constant throughout their four years on the team.
Furthermore, everyone is held to the same standard of excellence and no one group is treated differently from another. The seniors are working to pass down Prospect cross country’s key values of discipline and hard work while also having fun with the process and not taking things too seriously.
“The entire freshman class is so dedicated to the sport and motivated to be so good that I was like.. ‘oh shoot!’” Zajac said.
Zajac has been running since middle school alongside freshman Ashley Skelton. Zajac recalls when she was in eighth grade and Skelton was in fourth grade they ran a race together in Wisconsin during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I vividly remember Ashley almost beating me even though she was so much younger,” Zajac said.
All of these memories turned into a full circle moment for the two girls when Skelton was paired with Zajac for the long-standing Prospect cross country tradition of big and little sisters. On the morning of a Saturday meet, big and little sisters exchange handmade cards, granola bars, electrolyte drinks, or any other race day snacks.
Little things like this bond the team closer together and help develop numerous relationships that often last far beyond high school.
“If we come together as a team at state like how we have been at practice, we will be very successful, ” said Zajac.The Prospect Sports Center is maintained by student journalists at Prospect High School – it is a collection of scores, schedules, and sports coverage. To view sports schedules, scores, and rosters, click here.
