Eureka's Long to debut at Forest Park

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photo: Jen Rosario

 

As each new cross country season dawns, the Eureka girls are led through the hallways of the school to the Wildcats’ trophy case.

Coach Kally Fischer pauses and has the team reflect on all the wooden plaques, the trophies with the runners frozen in motion and the myriad of medals and other awards. The team embraces its history as the foundation to build upon for current success, and it always begins by acknowledging those girls and teams that came before.

“Some of them get excited about the possibility that could be them one day -- that they could contribute to the legacy of the high school,” Fischer said.  

Eureka returns five girls from last season’s state qualifying team, including senior Jessie McNeel who was the team’s top finisher at state.

Even with the number of returners and team depth, which includes 42 active runners, most of the buzz around the program has centered on freshman Hannah Long.

When Eureka begins its season at the Forest Park Cross Country Festival Saturday, everyone will be watching to see what the team and its standout freshman can do. The intrigue about Long increased when she was held out of the Fleet Feet race.

“It’s a big jump from racing maybe three times a year to nine times a season,” Fischer said. “We want to ensure her success and keep her healthy. For anybody starting a new high school career it’s just a progression.”

Long gained the attention of the running community when she took second at Big River Running’s Festival of Miles with a 5:06. She came right back a couple weeks later and blazed a 4:55 on the downhill Macklind Mile. She is also adept at longer distances, taking second in the 4,000-meter run at the USATF Jr. Olympic National Cross Country Championships last December in 14:29.

Each performance only intensified the curiosity of what this freshman would do once her prep career began.

“Some people are saying I will do very well in varsity; we’ll see,” Long said. “It’s good pressure. It motivates me to do better and live up to the expectations.”

Fischer said Long has seamlessly blended into the team.

“Everyone has Hannah Long on the brain, and our girls do, too,” Fischer said. “We’re excited about her addition to the program. (The speculations) are not our expectations of Hannah. She will only help our returning girls race and practice better.”

Long set a couple manageable goals for her first race and first season. She would like a top five finish at Forest Park, and she is aiming to qualify for the state meet. But the focus right now is finding her place on the team and navigating high school and a new season.

“I love being part of the team,” Long said. “It makes running a lot more fun running with teammates who have experience.”

Fischer said she’s hoping that experience leads to a progression throughout the season, which will only add to the tradition at Eureka.

“It’s just the process of it,” Fischer said. “Every individual has a race plan, and if they all execute it, then the team will run well. Hopefully each week we can make some sort of impression across the state.”

 

 

Watch Hannah Long at Festival of Miles