Tyler Rossi
Staff writer
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Cross country athletes have been preparing for the final finish line the entire season.
This Fall, CV sent two athletes to States in Hershey November 3, senior Luke Klingenberg and freshman Kate Vonah. Klingenberg finished 17th, and Vonah finished 77th. Both competed against hundreds of competitors.
Check out this video of the start of the boys' race:
XC Boys Finals Start
These athletes need to have a great mind set to not quit or give in when they run this much and prepare for meets.
“I usually run around 35-40 miles a week in preparation for a big meet,” Klingenberg said.
“I got in around 14-15 miles of running the week before to keep myself moving,” Vonah said
The runners pushed through windy, cold conditions at Hershey's Parkview course to complete the tedious race.
“The weather was in decent condition for a State meet except the slight head wind at the finish. Also, the course was very muddy from the rain,” Klingenberg said
Klingenberg recently moved from California to Pennsylvania and said there were many differences in training and competition. He says his races and practices helped him with this.
“Yes, I ran a lot more miles a week in California than I did in Pennsylvania and since California has such a huge population, every race was loaded with competition and the season would go a couple weeks longer,” Klingenberg said
Competing at States as just a freshman, Vonah was able to use her nerves to her advantage.
“Competing as a freshman was pretty scary knowing everyone around me was most likely a year or two years older, but it was also an experience that will help me grow in the future,” Vonah said.
When it finally came race time, senior Luke Klingenberg was in the zone and ready for the race.
“I was not really nervous before the meet. I was just excited to get out there and get that adrenaline rush and run hard,” Klingenberg said.
The course was one of the harder cross country courses.
“The state course was hard but after being in all of the muddy ones I have been in this past year and the big puddles, I definitely think that helped make me ready for this,” Vonah said.
They pay close attention to how they fuel their body before the race. Proper foods always help them to run their best race.
“Usually before my big meet I have a lot of pasta and chicken with some bread,” Klingenberg said.
Just making it to States was a huge accomplishment for both of them.