For the athletes of the Lewis Cross-Country team, it’s an exercise in endurance, commitment and will. “It’s all mental,” says Upper School student Tano Rojas, team captain. “You’re putting your body through stress, but you can’t quit. You have to keep on running.”
The first cross country meet was Tuesday, September 16. Athletes from The Lewis School, The Hun School, and Pennington School ran a 5K race, most of which was up hill. “It was brutal,” Tano recalls. How did the team do? “Our team did really well. We do need to do more hill practice and work on keeping a steady pace.” In its second meet at Wilberforce School on October 4, Lewis placed second.
Coach Fonder, an accomplished runner, begins each race by preparing the team mentally. “Before every game,” Tano says, “Coach reminds us that the team is relying on you, and that we’re doing this together. Then he tells us to dig deep.” That is the secret to the team’s success: digging deep, running for one another…and having a little fun.
