Cass Tressin

Sweat drips down her face, her legs feel like Jello, and her heart beat pounds in her ears. She flops onto the ground with her hands above her head as she watches her teammates cross the finish line congratulating each one for doing a great job.

This is the typical scene after every cross country meet for senior runner Cass Tressin.

Tressin has been running cross country for four years, and this year is her last year. It’s her turn to be the role model. With a team of mostly new runners, Tressin said she tries her best to encourage them as much as she possible.

“I try to encourage them as best I can, i know it’s hard, especially your first year,” Tressin said.

Tressin definitely knows how difficult it can get, and even though the game has not changed, and the workouts are still the hard, Tressin says she’s glad she stuck with it all four years. The team is what motivates Tressin the most.

“I run for the team, we are so close and I want to be a good leader and show that if you work hard you can achieve anything,” Tressin said.

Coach Lesley Wilson agrees. Wilson said after graduating eight seniors, this year is a re-building season with lots of new leadership emerging. Wilson said that throughout the season, the team becomes a family.

“There’s just something about running eight miles in the pouring rain that just bonds you together with your teammates,” Wilson said.

“We are definitely a second family,” Wilson said

Freshman runner Lily Hermes said that she is very glad that she joined cross country. Hermes said that she wasn’t sure if she would be able to keep up with all the workouts and practices, but she’s grateful she stuck with it and is very happy to be apart of this team. She also said that the senior runners have a great influence on the rest of the team.

“They definitely motivate us and push us to work harder,” Hermes said.

Tressin said that the family aspect of cross country is her favorite part, but the running is what she hates.

“The only reason I joined was to help me stay in shape for track. Wilson always told me it would be a good idea,” Tressin said.

Tressin never realized that she would become so attached to the sport, it would become so much more than just more training for track. It would become life long memories, lessons and friendships.

Tressin said that she really hopes to run track in college, and cross country has better prepared her for that.

“It definitely makes me work harder and become a stronger person just knowing that i can push myself to those limits,” Tressin said.

Wilson said that cross country creates a certain self discipline and mental toughness that runners can carry with them throughout life.

With this being Tressin’s very last year in cross country, Hermes said that she plans to stick with it all four years. She hopes to have as much spirit as Tressin when she’s a senior, always giving lots of encouragement and motivation.

When Tressin is long graduated, she said the cross country team will still become a family for many more students.