Student-Athlete Insider: Jenny Grant

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We raced at Maryville College on October 6. It was raining on and off while we drove there, but luckily the rain held off until after we were done running. It was colder and windier than our previous meets, but since most of the course is in the woods, the wind was not really a factor. The girls ran first. Usually we run 5ks, but this race was a 6k. I do not like running at Maryville because in the past I have not done very well. My time was better than any other time I've run there before, but this time I did not place well. We came in 3rd place overall, but only lost to Maryville by two points. This was disappointing because I spent most of the race trying to catch a girl from Maryville. I was about 5 seconds behind her with 800 meters to go and I knew I was going to have to push myself hard to catch her and keep her behind me, but I knew I could do it. However, since the course was in the woods, there were a lot of leaves on the ground, which were slippery from the rain, but also made the tree roots hard to see. I caught my foot on the tip of a root and couldn't regain my balance on the wet ground and ended up falling. I almost landed flat on my face, but twisted to land sideways on my left hip. I rolled down the hill a little and my feet were slipping when I got back up. I was covered in dirt and ended up with a nice cut on my left elbow and thigh and right hand. I started running right away, but by that time the Maryville girl had surged ahead and I couldn't catch her before the finish. She ended up finishing 3 seconds ahead of me. If I had beaten her, Maryville and TC would have been tied in points, so the tiebreaker would have gone to sixth runner. Since our sixth runner came in ahead of Maryville's sixth runner, we would have come in second place overall instead of third. I was disappointed that I fell and couldn't make up the distance, but it happens. The course and weather are big variables in cross country running and they make every race unique. Looking back on it now, it was a pretty sweet fall, but I was glad no one was around to see it! The boys won their second title of the year and had all the scoring boys place in the top 15. It was a great race for all of them overall and a great way to head into the Conference race.

The week after Maryville was our only off weekend of the season and it happened to fall on block break as well. I went to Nashville with one of my teammates to visit my family. It was a fun trip in which we mostly relaxed and went shopping! On the way back to TC, we stopped at a famous restaurant called Pancake Pantry. They serve all different types of pancakes and they're so delicious. My favorite is called the Caribbean pancakes, which are buttermilk pancakes topped with bananas, coconut shavings, and pecans. We told ourselves pancakes are good for carb-loading and we would need all those carbs for Conference!

I don't typically get nervous before races because I just focus on doing my best and working hard. However, I was nervous the night before Conference just because it's something we've been working toward all season. We've seen our hard work pay off with the boys winning two meets (tied for the most wins this season in the Conference) and both teams placing runners consistently in the top ten. Everyone has improved their times so much from last season, but more than that, everyone is running stronger and working together to make this team the best it can. Conference was our chance to show this to everyone.

The morning of the race was cold and cloudy. It warmed up a little to a high of 55F. That doesn't sound very warm, but it was a very comfortable temperature to run in. The boys' race was first and we were all excited. The boys finished seventh overall with David Cooper earning All-Conference, First Team honors for his fourth place finish. We didn't have much time to celebrate with the boys because we had to warm-up. When lining up for the 5k, I was still nervous, but ready to get started. I knew this was our race. We knew the course. We had put in the hard work. We were ready. I ran with two of my teammates for the first mile. It was a fast first mile, which could have been bad considering the rest of the course was so hilly, but I felt really good. I wanted to go out faster because I knew that most people would not be able to make up the time on the hills. I also run better when I start out faster because I can push myself more when I feel tired than if I feel I have a lot of energy. I tend to be too conservative when my legs feel good because I don't want to run out of energy, but I can push through being tired because I know I have nothing to lose. Th first hill was big and I passed a few girls to end up in group of about 4 girls. We went back and forth the whole race. Coming into the third mile, I knew it was going to be tough because it's mostly all uphill. I knew people were going to be tired and this would be my chance to really push and pass them. Knowing the course in this sense really helped because I was able to pass so many people on the hills. Coming up the last few hills, I was still with the group of girls from the first mile. I passed three of them, but one of them caught me on the final hill. I finished in 43rd with a time of 22:29. Overall, I was happy with my time. I never expected to run that fast on such a tough course. It was also exciting because Tusculum has never hosted a home meet since I've been here, so it was really great to have that experience. So many of my teammates' friends and family from home were able to come to support us and so was the Tusculum community. Even though family and friends have come to meets before, I've never felt that level of support. It seemed everywhere I went, there was someone cheering for TC. It was really encouraging and I appreciated it!

After the race, I was awarded the SAC Scholar-Athlete award, which was a happy surprise. I did not expect to receive the honor, but I was glad to represent Tusculum in both the classroom and on the cross country course. Then the team was invited to lunch by the Pioneer Club, which is the group that supports Tusculum athletes through donations for Tusculum facilities, equipment, athletic scholarships, and more. Even though it was cold and windy outside, the food was great and it was fun to relax with the team, family, and friends after everyone having such a great race.

On November 3rd, we will compete in Regionals, which is our last meet of the season. I am looking forward to it because I love the course and spending the time with my teammates in Charlotte, NC, but I know this could potentially be my last collegiate race (I have one more year of eligibility) and I can't help but feel a little sad.

- Jenny Grant, Tusculum cross country