Cross country: The Maverick Girls Show Us Who’s Boss.

Every day someone is walking somewhere new, every minute a baby is taking its first steps, and every second someone is crossing the finish line to their race. Using our legs is something most of us have always known to do without thought. Cross Country is known to be one of the more physically demanding sports, and it is not for everyone. The running can be over grass, mud, dirt trails, rocky areas, and other hard surfaces. 

At Milford High School, Morgan Felton, a senior, has been in Cross Country for seven years. “The Cross Country Varsity and JV team has continued to improve as time goes on,” she said. When I asked about the team’s latest meet I was told by Felton “It was on senior night at Kensington. Milford placed first for girls.” Felton had something that was unlike some of the other girls on her team: “It was my first race back after my knee injury and I ran pretty decent for my first race.” 

Having a knee injury can definitely change one’s whole life around; not only small things can be difficult for you but sports and school can be even harder to adapt to. Not only did the injury affect her knee it also affected both of her hips and made it impossible to do any physical activity for a long period of time. Thankfully now that she has had a safe recovery she has been able to put her all into it. 

She has since then worked on getting back into shape and working on her times. She continues to strive to be better every day. A big thing in cross country is the hard and determining training they have to do in order to keep in shape. Felton said “Depending on the day, we’ll go out and do a normal run around three miles and then go back and do workouts or we’ll do a long run. And go back and stretch” 

 Not only did they just recently have a race at Kensington, they also had one of their first meets of the season at the Waterford Mott’s course in Hess Hathaway park on Sept 17. It was Something that the Milford team looked forward to every year. Their latest meet was Wednesday, Oct 5. The girls won the rotary trophy for the thirtieth year in a row against the Lakeland team, which is a big victory for our school.

Cross Country not only benefits physical skills; it can help bring you more opportunities for building long-lasting and stable friendships. Being on the team at Milford has really brought joy and uniqueness to many girls’ lives. “It’s made me better at running and I’ve definitely made more friends that are girls and grown closer to the team as the years have gone by,” Felton confesses. Another runner, Sophomore, Lauren Bradley, says one of the things she loves most is: “The people, and how close we are to each other.” Sophomore, Aida Mac, agrees saying she “loves the support the team has for each other” Seeing the race up close can not only motivate people who have no idea what cross country really is but motivate fellow cross country kids even more. 

The best tip Felton gave is: “Learn how you run best and just keep running.” Something simple yet very well up for interpretation. The girl’s Cross Country team at Milford High School is not only motivated, hardworking students who play sports and work hard at school, but they also have jobs and personal lives too. So if you’re thinking about going into Cross Country, but think you may not have the time, just know there’s always a risk you are taking when you are in something so stimulating. So consider going to one of their meets, the next meet is at Kensington Saturday, Oct 8. The girl’s JV open starts at 9:20, The Girl’s Varsity starts at 10:30, and all awards are given at 12:15 pm. Check it out if you are having thoughts about joining. It means a lot to show up and support striving young women who put so much dedication into their running.