About This Article
This Q&A article gives athletes an opportunity to learn directly from their peers and gain perspective from others who share similar experiences. Every athlete’s journey is different, and hearing from others can provide valuable lessons, advice, and encouragement along the way.
The sophomore season of cross country is often the year when the journey really starts to take shape. Year One is about learning adjusting to the 5K distance, figuring out unfamiliar courses, adapting to a new level of training, and discovering what it takes to compete at the high school level. By Year Two, much of that is no longer new.
Sophomores return with a full season of experience behind them. They know what the hills feel like, understand the importance of pacing a 5K, have experienced the pressure of big races, and have started learning what works and what doesn’t when it comes to training, racing, and recovery. That experience can make the sophomore season an important developmental year. Expectations begin to change. Simply finishing races and gaining experience can turn into chasing personal bests, earning varsity spots, competing for medals, helping the team score, or becoming someone teammates can count on.
But development isn’t always measured by the clock. A sophomore may become a better racer by learning how to attack hills, pace more consistently, finish stronger, handle a difficult race, trust their training, or simply become more confident on the starting line. For some runners, the improvement from freshman to sophomore year can be dramatic. For others, progress happens more gradually. Every athlete develops differently, and one runner’s sophomore season may look completely different from another’s. So, what does Year Two actually feel like for the runners experiencing it?
I asked several WPIAL sophomores to look back at their freshman seasons, reflect on how they’ve grown, and share what has changed the second time around.
Question 1
What’s the biggest difference between the runner you were as a freshman and the runner you are now as a sophomore?
Anna Wishart — North Catholic
“As a freshman, I didn’t run XC season because of an injury, but when track and field season came around, it was all about me catching up. Now that the injury isn’t relevant anymore, I’m focused on setting new goals and trying to run the best season I can.”
Louis Young — Greater Latrobe
“Focus. It starts during practice, running workouts correctly, pushing myself to get daily mileage. But also focusing on solo effort like working hard in the summer, stretching, and taking care of my body at home.”
Max Brumley — Taylor Allderdice
“The biggest difference between freshman and sophomore season for me was my mentality. I have been a lot more confident going into the races as a sophomore, knowing what I can try to put out there.”
Kameron Hackney — West Greene
“The biggest difference from the runner I was as a freshman and now is I am more comfortable while running.”
Magdalen Albright — Chartiers-Houston
“The biggest difference between the runner I was as a freshman than to being a sophomore was, probably my whole mentality of the sport. When I was still a freshmen running last year I didn’t think much of doing that well because for one my first year wasn’t that great, but two, I didn’t think I had to try as hard because I had many more years to run. Now that I’m a sophomore though, I realize that I have a team that depends on me when I’m running, which makes me want to try as hard as I can than I have before. This change in mentality has so far lead us to team wins, PRs, and soon section champs again for the 2026 season.”
Question 2
What feels easier or more comfortable about cross country now that you’re in Year Two?
Eliana Murawski — Derry Area
“I think knowing the courses, and having raced them before, makes a big difference in terms of being comfortable and being able to strategize.”
Mason Sheaffer — Fox Chapel
“It feels easier racking up the miles knowing what each mile does for me. Easier to take off from running from an injury knowing it’s not going to hurt me less if I don’t prolong the recovery.”
Henry Howard — Quaker Valley
“For my second year running I think my race intelligence has grown. I know our popular courses and the way to race them a lot better!”
Ransom Gaydos — Norwin
“It is a lot easier to trust my coach during training and before meets because I know how much effort he puts in to make a great team and individuals.”
Kameron Hackney — West Greene
“What feels more comfortable now that it is Year Two is the courses. I remember how each course felt from freshman year to now.”
Landen Correll — Hempfield
“The thing that feels easier is running the distance of a 5K because it is a big jump compared from middle school when it was only 1.8 miles, and running the 5K at a faster pace is way easier.”
Question 3
How have your goals or expectations changed now that you’re in your second season of cross country?
Eliana Murawski — Derry Area
“My goals/expectations are heightened, specifically, in the sense of having a strategic race: attacking hills, pacing well, and having a strong start/finish.”
Kameron Hackney — West Greene
“My goals have changed by actually wanting to make it somewhere with the sport. Freshman year was mostly a test season where I didn’t try as hard and wasn’t as disciplined.”
Question 4
If you could go back and give your freshman-year self one piece of advice before your first cross country season, what would it be?
Owen Derda — Seton LaSalle
“I would tell my freshman self that there is a lot of races, one bad race doesn’t define your whole season, trust the process.”
Gavin Kahrs — Quaker Valley
“Don’t overtrain and ego run. It might seem cool to run with all the varsity guys and do ‘easy runs’ at your tempo pace. It might work for a bit but you’ll just end up getting injured and you should focus on actually doing things at your level while still pushing yourself.”
Evan Lewis — Mars
“I would definitely tell myself that all the hard work that your putting in now is going to pay off in the long run and that I’d also tell him that eventually you’ll take bicarb and it’s the worst thing ever!”
Kameron Hackney — West Greene
“If I could go back to tell my freshman self before season I would say do your summer running. It will make your season a lot better.”
The sophomore season is only the second chapter of a four-year high school journey, but it can be an important one. The courses are more familiar, the 5K no longer feels completely new, and a full year of experience gives runners a better understanding of what it takes to compete. As these athletes shared, Year Two isn’t just about running faster. It’s about confidence, race strategy, consistency, discipline, trusting your training, learning from mistakes, and understanding that one bad race doesn’t define an entire season. For these sophomores, Year Two is about taking what they learned as freshmen and building on it. Some will make huge jumps. Others will improve gradually. The times may get faster, the goals may get bigger, and the expectations may change, but every runner develops at their own pace.
They’re no longer freshmen trying to figure everything out, and they’re nowhere near finished products.
They’re sophomores, and their journey is just starting to take shape.
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