Cardinal senior Megan Maddox joined the cross country team this fall simply to prepare for her final season of track.
She finished it with a 32nd place finish at the 2017 Ohio High School Athletic Association regional cross country meet on Saturday at Boardman High School.
“It was such an amazing experience,” Maddox said. “Getting to run amongst so many talented girls is something I’ll never forget.”
Maddox finished the race in 21:27.
“I was a little disappointed in my time,” she said. “As soon as I took off my warmups, I instantly got cold. Both my hands and feet went numb, but just the fact that I made it to regionals is something that I’m extremely proud of, seeing as it is my first season.”
Her season-best time of 20:32 moved her into fourth place on Cardinal’s all-time list of fastest finishes in a 5K race.
Maddox now has plenty of momentum and inspiration heading into the spring track season.
“I feel that cross country has definitely prepared me for this upcoming track season,” she said. “During my 800, I would always lose speed in the last 200, but thanks to all of the miles I ran during cross country, I feel that I have built enough endurance to be able to maintain my speed.”
