Running cross country with your friends and teammates is special by itself, but getting the opportunity to share a season with a sibling can make the experience mean even more. For Ringgold senior Lily Brenneman and sophomore Claire Brenneman, the 2026 season is a little different. It represents one final opportunity for the sisters to compete side by side in a Ringgold uniform.
Just 780 days and two grades separate the sisters, but their paths into high school cross country have been different. Lily was the first to make her mark on the WPIAL cross country scene. She qualified for the PIAA Cross Country Championships during both her freshman and sophomore seasons in 2023 and 2024, including running a personal best of 20:06 as a sophomore. While Lily was finding success at the high school level, she was also trying to convince her younger sister to give cross country a chance. By 2025, Claire was ready to join her.
When asked how much Lily influenced her decision to run cross country, Claire didn’t hesitate.
“A lot,” Claire said. “She was trying to get me to do it for a couple of years, and then I finally decided to do it. It was really fun, and I’m really happy I did it.”
It looked like 2025 would finally give the sisters an opportunity to experience a high school cross country season together. Instead, injuries changed those plans. Both dealt with stress fractures, taking away much of the season they had been waiting to share. That disappointment has made being healthy and back on the course together in 2026 mean a little more.
“Running together this season,” Claire said when asked about her favorite cross country memory with Lily. “Last year, we were both out with stress fractures, so actually being able to run together has been really nice.”
And this time around, Claire hasn’t just been able to run alongside her sister. After running 21:13 at the 2025 WPIAL Championships, she has taken a major step forward in 2026. She ran 20:42 at the Red, White & Blue Classic before breaking the 20-minute barrier with a 19:52 personal best at the Ben Bloser Invitational. Lily, meanwhile, is back healthy and gaining momentum with each meet as she looks to return to the form that helped her reach the PIAA Championships during her freshman and sophomore seasons.
Now that both are healthy and racing together, their differences as runners have become part of what makes sharing the course interesting. They may share the same last name and wear the same uniform, but they don’t necessarily attack a cross country course the same way.
“Claire is definitely way better at the hills than me, and she gets out really fast,” Lily said. “I’m not very good at the hills, but I feel like I can pick up the pace faster on the flats.”
Claire agrees about the difference, but she also sees something in Lily that can’t necessarily be measured by the clock: experience.
“I think she has a lot more experience, so she’s better on the flats,” Claire said. “I think that experience really helps her when she’s racing.”
That experience has given Claire someone to learn from as she continues to develop as a high school runner. Some of Lily’s biggest lessons have been about something every young cross country runner eventually has to figure out: how to manage a 5K from start to finish.
“I’ve learned how to race, how to go out, how not to go out too fast, and how to keep a good pace,” Claire said.
Lily’s advice to her younger sister follows the same theme.
“Definitely not to go out too fast because that can really hurt your race, and to start picking people off during the second half,” Lily said.
But being sisters and teammates isn’t all about race strategy, workouts and getting through a 5k as fast as possible. Cross country has also become part of their relationship away from the course. When asked who talks about cross country more at home, there isn’t much debate.
“Definitely me,” Claire said. “I talk about it a lot.”
“Definitely her,” Lily added.
Figuring out who gets more nervous before a race takes a little more discussion.
“I’m nervous at the race, but I feel like Lily is more nervous a couple of days before,” Claire said.
“Yeah, the night before I get scared,” Lily admitted.
Those little moments are part of what makes having a sister on the team different. There is someone who understands the good races, the difficult workouts, the nerves before the starting gun and the days when things don’t go as planned.
Ringgold head coach Jennifer McMichael has watched that relationship develop throughout the season. For McMichael, having two talented sisters on the same team brings something special to the program that goes beyond their individual performances.
“I think it makes it more special that they are sisters and that they can celebrate each other’s accomplishments and achievements,” McMichael said. “Even when they face adversity, they can help pick each other up. Applying that to cross country from a team perspective, that’s what you want. Every team has success some days and adversity on others, and having someone by your side through all of that is special.”
When this season ends, so does their opportunity to compete together as high school cross country teammates. After waiting for that opportunity and then having injuries interrupt their first season together, there is a little more meaning behind every remaining practice, meet and run they get to share. Eventually, the PRs, finishing places and race results will become part of their high school cross country history. What the sisters believe they’ll remember most has much less to do with the clock.
“Just hanging out with each other, having a good time, and being competitive,” Claire said.
For Lily, it’s just as simple.
“I’ll miss the runs, hanging out all the time, and getting to do the same thing together.”
They are only 780 days apart, but their high school cross country careers will overlap for just two seasons. That makes 2026 more than just another season for the Brenneman sisters. It’s their chance to share the course, push each other, make memories and enjoy one final season together.
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