Eye on the prize: NGU’s women’s cross-country team wins its first ever conference championship
Photo courtesy of Kylie Futrell
Kelsey Watson, Sports Editor
The North Greenville women’s cross-country team ran to new lengths to capture their first ever conference championship.
NGU cross country coach Cameron Stober said he has watched his team train all year in preparation for this. Some athletes have been running regularly since May, prioritizing keeping their bodies healthy and staying in the weight room.
Stober said, “Talent alone doesn’t win championships. You have to work hard at it. Doesn’t matter how talented you are, so they take their God-given abilities, and they work really, really hard.”
Senior runner Kaylee Copeland said that she hasn’t only been working on this championship for the past four years, but for the past 12.
Copeland said, “It wasn’t like I was kicking my butt every single day thinking about a championship was on the line, but I was doing it with a positive mindset, one to enjoy it, and two to hope that maybe it would pay off with a championship.”
Stober claimed this is the most talented group of girls this program has seen in a long time, so they knew they had a chance for a win, but they still had to work hard.
“We’d have to have a lot of a lot of things go our way, stay healthy throughout the whole season, but it was definitely something we knew that was within reach. I think the girls had kind of set us a goal for themselves to win conference,” said Stober.
Hard work and determination go a long way, but Copeland claims the incoming freshman class really helped this team cross the finish line.
“I really think both their attitudes and their natural abilities and talents are what was different this year,” said Copeland, “as well as coaches. Training was a lot different; it allowed minimal injuries.”
Stober is extremely proud of his team this season because he has seen firsthand exactly how much they wanted it.
“God really blessed us with bringing high character individuals into our program. The way they’ve won and the way they’ve gone about it. They’ve done it the right way. I’m really happy with the group of girls that we had. I told them that winning is not nearly as fun or not nearly as enjoyable if you don’t have the right people to do it with,” Stober said.
Copeland explained this is a hometown team. Their top five runners are all South Carolina locals. Cross-country doesn’t have any international teammates like many other teams do, so their talent is truly homegrown.
She said this dynamic brings a homey feel to the team, allowing the girls to go over to each other’s houses and truly grow a friendship first.
As a senior, Copeland’s cross-country journey is ending, but she sees the potential this program has to go even further in years to come.
Copeland said, “You think you’re at the peak of it now, but I truly think that they’re just starting to climb the ladder and that they’re just going to get better from here as long as they stay healthy and keep trusting the training. But I feel like there’s a lot more championships that we can look forward to.”
