Kristen Witt

Senior Maddy Brown and sophomore Natalie Rath sprint toward the finish of the 2.2 mile race at Red & Blue night on Aug. 15.

Before the fireworks went off signifying the end of Red and Blue night, something more spectacular occurred on the track; during the Girls Cross Country race, senior Maddy Brown, who ran 18:32 for an all-State finish in the 5k (the standard meet length) at the end of last season, was defeated by sophomore Natalie Rath.

“Before the race, I was really nervous even though it was a friendly race,” Rath said. “I always get really nervous, which is why I didn’t do it freshman year; I didn’t really know what expect. During the race, I felt like it was going pretty well, so I just kept telling myself keep going.”

Brown ran a time of 13:33 on the 2.2 mile course; however, Rath ran it in 13:32, outkicking Brown in the last 20 yards.

“We ran together all the way through. By the end, Maddy and I were deadlocked, and I was really tired but running on adrenaline. I remember feeling like I was flying through the last 100m,” Rath said.

Though she had not run competitively before this year, Rath had set records in running workouts in the soccer program, replacing records set by alumni soccer players Chandler and Nicholas Klemm, who now compete at a collegiate level.

“I knew she was phenomenal coming in,” Brown said. “I was excited to see to what length she would push herself. She ended up staying with me the whole time which didn’t surprise me at all.”

Coach Charlie Cutelli had heard of Rath’s abilities before he ever witnessed her run.

“I was not surprised [with her performance].” Cutelli said. “I had heard rumblings about how good of a runner she was. She had been practicing with us for two weeks or so [before the season]. I knew she was going to be running up with our top girls.”

Rath has consistently run workouts with Brown and returning junior Rachel Osborne – two all-District runners that have run at the State meet in the past.

“She is able to push Maddy and Rachel in a way that no one has ever been able to,” assistant coach Brittney Hess said. “I expect her to impact the team tremendously.”

In her senior season, Brown has noticed a change in the team’s devotion and skill level.

“The ability and the will power our team is showing so far, makes me confident that we’re going to have a very successful season,” Brown said. “I am so confident in our team. We had a lot of girls really step up and do really hard training over the summer and get in the right mental state for the season, like being super positive and excited, instead of dreading practice.”

While Brown has had three seasons of Cross Country and has gone to the State meet all three years, Rath, has only experienced Cross Country camp and practice.

“I’m definitely more comfortable with the team and more used to the practice routine. I didn’t know what level I’d be at when I first started, but now I’ve learned that I can run well with Maddy Brown, Rachel Osborne and Megan Chisholm. Rachel and Maddy push me and that’s helped me improve a lot, especially when we’re doing hard workouts,” Rath said.

The team has seven meets scheduled until competition in the District two Class four meet,  which in turn would bring them to state.

“I hope we qualify for sectionals and qualify our whole varsity team for the state meet,” Cutelli said. “As long as she [Rath] keeps working, the sky’s the limit.”