Cross country has always been a passion of mine since I started as a sixth grader in the beginning of middle school. Even before I was able to join the team, I knew that it would be a sport that would stay with me all the way to my senior year of high school and hopefully after. Respect, commitment, teamwork, and leadership are all a big part of cross country. At the very beginning respect, commitment and teamwork came easily to me, as my parents made sure to bring me up as a reflection of these character traits. However, leadership was something that I have had to grow with and develop. As time went on I was able to take the role as the leader of the team and continue to build on these roles when I realized that I needed to step up to the