From breathless runs to aching muscles, it’s a race against time for cross country runners at Wakeland High School. However, junior Nati Enright takes the cake for breaking Wakeland’s record of 15:15 in the 5K at the state cross country meet.

Enright made a new personal and school record of 15:09 at the state meet.

“It felt amazing, and it just felt good that all the hard work paid off,” Enright said. 

It takes dedication to be a part of the varsity cross country team and Nati has proved that through his hard work.

“Even though I didn’t get to run with the team, it was exciting running individually. It just showed that all the hard work paid off,” said Enright. 

Through years of running cross country, Nati has been trained for success.

“We had to do a lot of speed workouts and early mornings, but we run around 45 miles a week,” Enright said. 

Training and running cross country can be a difficult task, but having his dad as his coach prepares him for all sorts of challenges. 

“I probably wouldn’t enjoy [running] as much if [my dad wasn’t my coach]. He makes it a lot more fun, but I think I would still do it. I just probably wouldn’t be as good,” Enright said. 

Motivation is one of the key factors for running this fast-paced sport. 

“I want to run in college, so that kind of motivates me; and hopefully getting a scholarship. It gets tiring, especially having to go straight from practice to school. It just makes the day longer, but it’s worth it in the end,” Enright said.