Shout Out to the New Richmond Cross Country Team

The New Richmond Cross Country team excelled at the Willow River 5k Run last weekend! The boys team captured 1st – 4th places in overall runners (Brennan Roby, Jack Utzmen, Bailey Wilson, Austin Haseleu). Beyond placements, the runners had great personal improvements! Brennan Roby set a lifetime personal record at 17:02. Jack Utzman cut 1:02 from his time in the same race last year. Coach Beth Kelly stated that Bobby Kelley, an incoming freshman runner, also ran very well. The girls team placed 1st – 4th in their age group. Mallory Kelly improved by 4 minutes, Kennedy Kling by 3:12, Andrea Meissner by 1:45, and Meghan Watkins by 30 seconds. Impressive results for these high school athletes!

The cross country team has worked incredibly hard this summer between their training program for running and their strength training program. The team and coaches are rolling by 6:15 every morning during the summer. Each athlete has chosen a training program for their runs based on their experience level and involvement in other sports (to avoid burnout). The strength training program for the team has been designed to emphasis stabilizing, core strength, total body strengthening and engagement, and functional strength for their sport(s). Lifts and exercises have also been chosen based on the injuries the team has battled in the past, focusing on injury resistance and strength.

In addition to their training, we as coaches emphasize the importance of taking recovery days, discussing proper nutrition for their activities, and adjusting activities based on their fatigue level. Many of the athletes are participating in multiple sports, all of which have leagues, contact times, and/or additional strength training activities. Finding the balance between being involved, but not over-involved, can be very challenging. We encourage them to cross train as needed for recovery, and sometimes they only use body weight to emphasize form after a heavy lifting activity the day before in another sport.

From a strength training perspective and seeing the results of their most recent race, the excitement for their upcoming season continues to grow! If you see one of the cross country runners in the community, give them a little shout out for all of their hard work and some encouragement for their season and continued hard work. They are truly an exceptional, hard working, and fun group of athletes to work with!

Run on. 🙂

– Steph