Running straight to the top: Washburn-Wilton Cross Country finishes season at State

Posted 10/29/08 (Wed)

By Danielle Abbott

Most athletic teams work for a full season to make it to a state competition, unfortunately for most of those teams, the dream falls just out of reach. Led by strong runners, great coaching, long strenuous practices and tremendous determination, the Washburn-Wilton cross country team was able to complete that task. Like a train reaching the end of a track, with no where else to go but a sudden stop, the cross country’s season came to an end on Oct. 25 when they competed at the meet of all meets, North Dakota State Cross Country meet. Just making it that far wasn’t enough for the 11-person team, they practiced hard and prepared themselves for the hardest competition of the year. The three-person coaching staff consisting of Shayla Sinclair, Stacy Boeshans and Laura Tweeten made sure the team was ready. With a small team to begin the season, all injuries and illnesses can add up. "Distance running really takes a lot, and sometimes you just get burned out and have to go out of commission for a while," Sinclair said. Though the team battled their fair share of injuries throughout the season, they were still able to pull together a crew of seven to compete at state, which is considered a decent-sized team. Tiffany Jaeger was the team’s strongest prospect for winning an individual award. Jaeger placed tenth at the recent Regional meet in Watford City, and the coaches expected her to run well. Jaeger finished the day 28th out of 200 female runners. The coaches hoped she would finish within the top 20, and her time was only 15 seconds shy of landing her in the top 20.