Sophomore Oaklee Lyman ran. 

Ran to keep herself in the top ten all throughout the 2022-2023 cross-country season.

A season during which she advanced to region. 

But this year was different. 

Before the varsity girls’ race began, Lyman did everything she was supposed to. She kept herself hydrated and was eating healthy for weeks prior to the race. When the shotgun went off, she started the race, pacing herself with the utmost precision — accelerating only when necessary.

At the two mile mark, everything started to go downhill. 

“I got hurt midway through,” Lyman said. “My legs kind of just gave out. It was scary because I was in the top ten, two miles in the race, and then I went down to 19th or 20th. It’s embarrassing to say, but I was more worried about my place than my body.”

Lyman has been running since the second grade, proudly following the footsteps of her mother. 

“The main reason I did cross-country and continue to pursue it is because of my mom,” Lyman said. “She did cross-country when she was in high school and got a scholarship to do it in college, and when I was younger I was like if mom did it, why don’t I.”

Lyman was then put into club track by her parents. Now, she is building a high school career out of it, with District UIL as an obstacle she’s worried to face every year. 

“Districts is one of the scariest meets,” Lyman said. “All the tough teams are there which weirdly annoys me. Which I think is because the thought of me not staying in the top ten makes me have feelings of self-doubt, of whether or not I’m fit enough to be successful in this sport. I think the nerves really were the thing that forced my legs to give out.” 

To prepare for districts, the cross country team worked hard to prepare three weeks before. Practice started everyday at six in the morning, where all team members ran five miles and did different workouts, like running 15 x 200 meters or running hills, a workout that involved sprinting up a steep hill and jogging or walking back down. Then the athletes do a series of recovery runs two days before, and are finally given a day’s rest before the meet. Runners like Lyman, give their all during these practices, but there are other individuals who don’t push themselves as much. 

“It’s upsetting when people don’t give their best efforts at practice,” Lyman said. “If you’re coming to practice everyday at six in the morning, it means that you chose to be here, so everyone should be giving it their all or at least trying. It’s super disrespectful toward the coaches and other team members if you’re just here to have something to boost your resume.”  

The varsity girls team placed sixth, while the boys team placed seventh at the District UIL meet. 

“I didn’t do my best this year,” Lyman said. “But something this entire team did is we did push ourselves. Nobody can really do anything about the people who don’t give their all, but being positive and encouraging yourself and other people to practice and give it their all is the only thing you can do. Unfortunately, that’s sometimes the hardest thing to do than the actual running. “