After qualifying for state due to her Regionals performance on October 24th, Jenna Winn stood alone as the only Raptor who would compete for state. However, despite only one runner representing Eaglecrest cross country to the whole state, the school as a whole was able to carry out a decent season this year. 

This season, the runners in the team were able to improve their finish times. As a result, the team ended off with good finishes at meets, maintaining them as a threat in Colorado cross country. Among their highest achievements was finishing first place at the Aurora City Championships and tying 5th at the Regionals. 

Winn credited her team, saying “I think our team was honestly really strong this season…We had a lot of people drop a lot of time.”

Despite their best efforts, however, Eaglecrest encountered obstacles such as their multitude of injuries. 

This was a major factor as to why the cross county team didn’t make it to state. Therefore, Winn is grateful and thrilled for breaking through the adversity. 

Speaking out on qualifying to state Jenna Winn says, “I feel like it’s especially surreal being the only person on the team that made it, and so like racing on my own at state is going to be interesting.”

Maintaining tip top condition is crucial to maximize chances at the competition. Being your best self on the track is needed to reach your best performance. So to stay in peak performance, Jenna devised a preparation plan ahead of the race.

She revealed that she’s focusing on ”stretching, rolling out, eating well, and getting enough sleep.” 

She hoped that her commitment towards being ready for the race would help her achieve her goal of finishing in the top half. Her overall goal, though, was to try her hardest and put herself in the best position to finish at the highest place possible saying, “I want to set a personal best and just give it my all.” 

Entering the race, Winn developed a gameplan of sticking close to fellow runners during the race to find a pace. She stuck to the plan well throughout the competition and as a result ran faster than she usually did. However, Winn didn’t pull out with the desired result, finishing at 96th place, yet is still content with what she accomplished at state. 

“I’m pretty satisfied. I mean, obviously I didn’t run the time that I wanted to, but state was a really cool experience.”

Overall, Jenna Winn managed to finish out a very impressive season. She was the leader of her roster whilst an underclassman and the sole representative of Eaglecrest at state. While not achieving her best performance at state, Winn understands that the race has better prepared her for future competitions. Only a sophomore, Jenna Winn is on the pace to further success and influence on the track. It is then safe to say that the future of Eaglecrest county is progressing for the better.