Wonder Women Of XC

Strength. Dedication. Mental toughness. These are just some of the qualities the Wonder Women of Cross country team have. Our women may not be fighting a heroic battle against Ares, but they are fighting to defeat the course one stride at a time.  

Mrs. Melissa Copley, CB newest Women’s Cross Country coach, has been in love with running and wanted to show her enthusiasm on a high school level.  

“I am a runner and love the positive atmosphere of cross country, so it is a great fit,” she says. “Coaching High School is a lot of fun and I am really enjoying working with this age group,”

She has coached at Holy Spirit for the past five years coaching 3rd-8th graders, but when the call for a women’s coach at CB was made, she answered. The Women’s XC team has been in full gear with 20 strong runners from frosh to Varsity racing hard each meet.

“Watching our runners push harder at practices and meet personal goals during races is rewarding,” Coach Copley expressed.

Running is hard mentally, but it takes a certain runner to race till the finish.

“Running is about more than just putting one foot in front of the other — it is about our lifestyle and who we are,” says Riley Vigil (‘20). “Even though we want to stop, we push ourselves and each other.” 

The women’s team has been compared to Wonder Woman all season for their strong dedication and work performance at practices and meets. But why is Wonder Women the figure to look up to?

“Wonder Woman has been my favorite fictional character since childhood,” Coach Copley said. “Wonder Woman represents all the characteristics we should strive for as women — work ethic, humility, strength, determination, resilience, and love for humanity.” 

“Girls XC are Wonder Women because even with a small amount of females on the team, they manage to win and place well in their divisions by putting hard work,” says Kathryn  Kasbergen (‘19).

“Our sport is your sport punishment,” added Margaret Donovan (’19).

Last weekend Layla Airola (’21)  showed true Wonder Women spirit on how she put herself second to help a fellow teammate, Kayla Piegaro (’20) to the finish. Kayla started the race off not feeling good at all.

“I knew when I started that this race would be hard. I knew my breathing wasn’t strong and the fact that I have been sick the past week didn’t help, ” she said.  Kayla appreciates being on a team where the girls help one another out no matter what the circumstance. Layla finished 0.02 seconds behind Kayla with true Wonder Women pride.

The XC girls aren’t just a team, but a family working for each other and helping one another out no matter what.