Junior Laurie Serrell stood at the starting line alone before the cross country state meet at Great Meadows on Nov. 15. She qualified for the race as an individual, but she admits she couldn’t have gotten there without the help of others.

The upperclassmen varsity runners, Brenna Cowardin, Morgan Heckman and Julie Raab, along with herself, have been the leaders of the team this season, according to Serrell.

“I don’t think the season would’ve been the way it was without the three of them,” Serrell said.

However, for a role model, Serrell just takes advice from every runner she sees.

“I don’t have an olympic runner role model or anything,” Serrell said. “There’s so many people that I’ve picked things up from. Good form from one girl, a longer stride from someone else.”

Cross country coach David Loughran kept her training for states the same as the rest of the season and also emailed alumni for their advice about the course.

“I emailed alumni from the program and asked them to send her good luck wishes and memories of the meet in hopes that she knows there are other people out there rooting for her,” Loughran said. “I made sure to keep her training partner, Brenna Cowardin, around so everything was the same as normal,” Loughran said.

Serrell ran the five kilometer course in 20 minutes and 34 seconds, a 35 second personal record, and earning her a 39th place finish.

“I’m really proud of [my race],” Serrell said. “I felt like I did better than I was expected to on paper.”

Despite the state meet initially overwhelming Serrell, it was over quickly.

“I felt like all the pressure was on me. To be honest, I actually wasn’t sure if I wanted to run, but it was over really quickly,” Serrell said. “I’m glad it was over with, but I wish I would’ve had more time to appreciate it.”

To deal with nerves, which came and went for Serrell, Serrell gave and received lots of hugs, and braided into her ponytail to distract herself.

“I was really nervous when I was standing on the starting line, but as any runner could tell you, the butterflies go away when the gun goes off,” Serrell said.

Loughran’s nerves were in anticipation of Serrell’s success.

“The nerves I have are often because I know how hard my runners work and I want them to find success,” Loughran said.

The end of the race was Serrell’s favorite part: she passed four or five girls in the final stretch. Her coach and her team ran along the sideline, cheering her on. However, Serrell missed the team cheer when it was absent from the “pre-race pump up” on the starting line.

Loughran was proud of Serrell’s race.

“[When she finished], I clapped my hands several times and pumped my fist in the air,” Loughran said. “Since there were so few people at that meet, I immediately ran to my phone and texted Bugg [indoor and outdoor coach and retired cross country coach],” Loughran said.

Serrell has big goals for indoor and outdoor track as well this year.

“I want our four by eight to go to states, no question. It’s definitely possible during outdoor,” Serrell said.

She’s not the only one with big goals– Loughran hopes to take the entire varsity cross country team to states next year.

“I want to take the whole team and not as spectators,” Loughran said. “That’s a goal we might reach; it’s a goal we might not reach, but it’s a goal we need to have.”

Serrell has been running competitively since middle school, and hasn’t stopped since.

Photos Courtesy of Brenna Cowardin