Barstow Cross Country sent Isa Welty to state this year, finishing off a successful season of consistent improvement and wins among the whole team. Isa Welty (‘25) placed 39th with a PR time of 22:09. Despite Barstow Cross Country’s consistent inability to qualify for the team division based on its small size, last year Welty also hit her PR, and placed 36th alongside now graduated Luke Whitfill (‘22).
Welty accomplished all of this in temperatures below 50 degrees. “There were definitely some better conditions than this year. It was freezing cold the day of the meet and super windy,” she said. “It started sprinkling for a bit on the course and overall was not a great day for running, but I love the course we were at, and it’s always fun to run.”
Welty keeps her spirits high, even in the face of cold weather, by being mindful of her anxiety about running, and also finding motivation, “I was definitely nervous the day of. I usually can barely eat on the morning of a meet, so I just ended up drinking a protein shake and a cliff bar.”
“I was also super excited to be done with the season after this one last run because of how physically and mentally draining the cross-country season can be,” she continued. “It was kind of sad to not have anyone there other than my coach and family to support me, and to be the only runner representing Barstow while most schools had large teams competing, but overall it was fun to finish out the season running the Gans Creek course again.” Barstow’s cross country team consistently has some of the lowest turnout rates for student body support.
Despite her positive attitude about the season, she has a few regrets. “I definitely regret not running more throughout the summer and I definitely think that if I started training sooner I would’ve placed at state,” she continued. “I think I could’ve definitely taken training more seriously, but it’s hard to find the motivation for a mentally challenging sport like running when we have such little support with such a small team.”
Contrastingly, her teammate Jackson Williams (‘25) does not share the sentiment, “I regret nothing from the season. Overall, it was a great experience and very physically challenging.”
However both plan on staying busy during the off season. “I am going to maintain my conditioning,” said Williams. “Staying as fit and conditioned as possible makes the transition back into the season much easier.”
Welty has similar ideas, “During cheer season I am going to still keep up with running 3 times a week, but I am going to focus on lifting a lot more.” Welty also is planning on pole vaulting during track season, and will train during the winter, “I have a training program set for lifting and then a running schedule on top of that so I definitely should be prepared to go into the track season and then cross country next year.”
Welty is also trying to coordinate a summer running program for Barstow. Anyone interested in Cross Country should contact her for more details!
