Girl's Cross Country Preview

By Josie Formica '18

Senior captains Shreeya Bahethi and Charlotte Kraft lead the girls cross country team as they embark on their 2017 season. With a younger team, the captains are excited about the potential of their squad. Here’s what each of them had to say in an interview.

Interview With Shreeya Batheti '18

Question for Shreeya: What are your goals for this season?
Shreeya: We’re pretty excited. We have a really good freshmen class coming in, and we are looking forward to having a good half marathon this season. Everybody’s really well trained. I think we have a pretty good shot of coming out on top.

Have you run for the team all four years? How would you compare your current team to years prior?
Yes. And we definitely have a younger team this year, but even though they have less experience, they are a strong group off athletes with lots of potential.

If you could pick a word or phrase to characterize your team, what would it be?
It'd probably be funny and unique.

What is it like having two captains and how are you both acting as leaders to the underclassmen?
It’s been pretty good. For the girls team, two captains is definitely a much smaller number than we've had in recent years, but we still look out for the girls. I know when I was a freshman, it was nice to see familiar, upperclassman faces in hallways. It was always nice to say hi. It's kind of cool now being in the opposite shoes.

What is the longest run you all have done in practice?
As of now, the farthest we've run is ten miles. But, the longest run we lead up to is the half marathon, which is 13.1 miles through Baltimore. And tomorrow for practice, we will be running twelve miles through Annapolis.

Interview With Charlotte Kraft

Questions for Charlotte: How’s your season going this far?
Pretty good so far. I think we have been working pretty hard towards our goal, which is to become better as a team and build up our endurance and speed.

Would you say that cross country is an individual sport?
I agree, but I also disagree. Because cross is an individual sport kind of, but at the same time it's also a team sport. In the end, it's your individual race, but you also want to work together as a team to bring up your times together. So, it's not all dependent on one person.

While you are racing, how does that team mentality come into play?
If you pass a teammate while running, just giving them a heads-up or saying “hey, you've got this.” Finishing together as a team is nice because if someone is coming in slow you can help them out by saying, “hey, let's finish this together.”

You’ve been on the team for four years, correct? What is it like being a captain and a senior versus being a freshman?
Yes, and it’s really different. As a freshman, it is really different because you are new on the team. As a senior and captain, you are used to everything, you know all the drills, all the different practices and mileages. A lot of the younger girls come to you as captain and they ask for advice on ways they can improve their running, how to deal with injuries, and just for support and the right mentality. They sometimes ask you for advice on classes and other school related problems they might have. We are a team on and off the field.

If you could capture your team in a word or a phrase, what would it be?
Strong. We are very good at keeping our endurance and at the same time we help each other out. We are not one to be put down easily; we always keep trying our best.