Willows Academy head coach Sara Danielewicz discusses this year's cross country team as they train for their 2019 season.
Q: Entering your second season as Willows head coach, what are you most excited about this upcoming cross country season?
A: Entering my 2nd season, I am most excited to be working with such an awesome group of positive girls. My first year, I felt like I had a bit of a late start. This year many of the girls did summer training. The girls came into the 2019 season ready to run with some training already under their belt. The girls have set a pretty high bar for themselves.
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Q: Your top three returning runners are senior Bridget Mongoven, and juniors Emma Dunaway and Penelope Rodriguez. How would you best describe each of them?
A: Co-Captain Bridget Mongoven (SR) is really the leader of the team. She has set the tone. I rely on Bridget a lot to help implement team rules, team tradition, daily stretching. Bridget has a can-do attitude. She asked her teammates daily to give 100%. Bridget is also tough on herself. She trains really really hard. She has set some pretty high goals for herself this year. Co-Captain Emma Dunaway (JR) is a great co-leader. Emma is the girl always smiling. She is super positive and is always telling others "great job." Her motto is "no problem." Emma is a great runner. She gives 100% performances. She doesn't leave anything out there on the course during her race. Emma had some really strong finishes last year, (finished #3 overall at LFA and at Regionals). I can't wait to see what she can accomplish this year. Penelope Rodriguez (JR) has been a wonderful surprise! Penelope had a great year last year. She had a couple ten finishes namely at conference meet where she made all-conference. She finished 11th in our first race this year at Harvest Christian. She just keeps shaving time. I don't think Penelope has peaked yet, so I know she will do amazing things.
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Q: You have some other strong returners, as well as new runners in the program, who are looking to be key contributors this season. Who are they, and who looks ready to really step up?
A: We have a lot of strong returners, the 3 that I mentioned above as well as Nora Sukkar, Joanna Kryczka, Caroline Kurt, Camila Martinez, Masha Lush, Vivian Sugrue, and Maya Jarosz. We also have a great group of new girls. I think it's interesting that we have new runners this year in all four grades. Two top stand-outs are Lucy James (F) and Francoise Lechner (F). Both of these girls are hungry. They have already made it into our "Top 5" runners and both had strong finishes at our first meet. The girls are really going to round out our team and make Willows true competitors.
Q: What has the team vibe been so far this preseason?
A: Our team vibe this year has been really special. The girls are eager to train, eager to perform and eager to improve! They come to every practice ready to work. Every one of them is positive and super supportive of each other. I love it! Besides... they are all genuinely nice girls. The main thing I stressed is "individual improvement" each race, each week and each day.
Q: Where is this team headed in 2019?
A: Looking ahead, I hope to have several top 10 finishes this year and win a meet or two. We have our eyes set on winning Regionals, making a showing at Sectionals and hopefully getting a couple girls to State. I am really excited about the future of Willows XC! Our numbers are up from last year and I think the better we do, the more girls will be willing to give XC a try. We have several fast younger girls as freshmen and sophomores. They have not peaked yet and will only get faster.
