Freshman, Dylan de Valk, began cross country when he was 10 just looking for fun, but ended up enjoying it and plans to stick with it throughout high school.

Q: Why did you join cross country?

A: I was kind of just doing it just because. I wanted to do it in 6th grade, but my mom couldn’t drop me off at meets because she had to help my brother with college essays. But 7th grade I got to do it since my brother already went off to college.

Q: What do you like best about it?

A: It’s really fun and I got to meet a lot of new people since I just moved to new school. I wouldn’t say I’m the best at it though.

Q: You said that you’re not the best, does it sometimes make you sad or upset that you can’t be the best or are you fine with it since you enjoy it?

A: I’d definitely say I’ve gotten better, but I wouldn’t say I’m the best by any means. I mean who doesn’t want to be the best at something. I’m not angry that I’m not  as fast as others, but I still want to get better.

Q: Is this something you want to stick with all throughout high school?

A: Yeah I definitely think I’ll stick with it and I think it’s a good thing to do so you can enjoy high school.

Q: What goes through your mind while you’re running?

A: When you’re running it’s kind of therapeutic in a way because you don’t really have to do anything except run and you don’t have to focus on anything and it just kind of clears your head and can help you focus on certain things more easily.

by KARINA MARTIN