The freshmen’ s“ hardworking attitude and energy helped the seniors understand that cross country is not just hard and exhausting, but [ they ] can also have fun with it.”
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The peculiar dynamic of grade levels in the cross-country team encouraged a supportive environment never seen before. The four( or more) year age gap between many of the runners helped the team form a special, unbreakable bond.
Coach Smith explained what it was like to work with both younger and older students:“ You had the seniors who had the wisdom and the calm— but maybe not the knowledge of cross-country.”
The freshmen’ s“ hardworking attitude and energy helped the seniors understand that cross country is not just hard and exhausting, but [ they ] can also have fun with it.”
Similarly, varsity runners supported the JV athletes by running with them, even though the varsity had already finished their race. JV runner Jaewon Min, freshman, explained William Kim, another freshman, had ran with him the entirety of the last race. It gave him a“ really big push of encouragement for [ him ] to do better.”
Even Coach Smith noticed the encouragement from the varsity players,“ So many times Adam or Leo or Minsoo would run back and run with Brian Kim or Jin, and remind them that they have to keep pushing.”
5
1. While awaiting the cross-country
KAIAC awards ceremony, Jeremy Kim and William Kim visit
Mrs. Rebecca Choi and her baby, JiHo. JiHo
4 laughed happily while Jeremy entertained him with the water fountain. 2. Brian Kim, exhausted, stretches out his injured ankle after his 5K junior varsity race. Determined to finish the race, Brian fought through the injury and finished the race with the support of varsity runner
Leo Chun, who ran beside him until the finish line. 3. Kaitlyn Lee successfully completes her second lap. This was her second year in cross-country and through her rigorous training, she was well prepared for this race. 4. Adam Bae pulls out of the starting line, pushing through the crowd to find a placing. He was confident in his performance as he was familiar with the running course. 5. Remembering to maintain her running speed, Irene Jeong approaches the end of the 5K course.
Given that it was her first year participating in cross-country, she was both nervous and excited to see the results of her performance. 6. After their race, Yuhee Hong and Jennifer Jeon rest with the
This was demonstrated in the KAIAC meet when Leo Chun, freshman captain, ran with Brian Kim, who was injured, during the JV 5K. Leo kept pace with Brian and encouraged him to finish the race, even though Brian had twisted his ankle. team. Together, they read letters of encouragement that Leo
Chun wrote to them.
Brian battled through what Jaewon Min described as“ The Un-runnable Area,” the infamous uphill in their home course.
Leo said,“ For everyone, I would say it was very, very successful. We all broke our record times.”
A da m B a e 20: 08 L e o C h u n 18: 49 Y u h e e H o n g 26: 25 J e n n y J e o n 27: 31 I r e n e J e o n g 30: 52
Best Times 5k
B r i a n K i m |
25: 20 |
H e e J u n L e e |
23: 59 |
E t h a n K i m |
23: 14
K a i t ly n L e e
|
26: 59 |
J e r e m y K i m |
23: 42 |
J a e w o n M i n |
27: 39 |
M i n s o o K i m |
23: 34
J i n Y o o n
|
27: 52 |
S o E u n K i m |
29: 18 |
K e v i n Y o u m |
23: 21 |
W i l l i a m K i m |
22: 42 |
|
|
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