GHCA cross-country team learning

By Gloria Austin  
Staff Writer
    HOULTON – She is among the top competitors in northern Maine and she is bringing her 20 years of running experience to a group of untrained, but eager learners.
CROSS-COUNTRY – Members of the Greater Houlton Christian Academy cross-country team are, from left, Teagan Ewings, assistant coach; Destiny Neureuther, Whitney Cote, Chris Morin, Britta Sjoberg and coach Angela Ewings; back, Zach Straubel, Micah Wiley, Jaron Gray, McKenzie Burns and Kasi Parker.     Angela Ewings is the new Greater Houlton Christian Academy cross-country coach.
    “I’ve always had a desire to coach,” said Ewings. “It’s a great opportunity to teach the younger kids about running. I told them that I can’t teach them to love running, but I can teach them how to run more comfortably … the mechanics … and to enjoy it more. By doing that, they may end up loving running.”
    Ewings is coaching nine runners, ranging from eighth grade to 12th grade.
    “They are hard workers,” she said. “You can tell they have parents who have instilled a work ethic and motivation. I couldn’t ask for a better group. There is obviously a reason why I am working with this particular group of kids. If I asked them to attempt to run 10 miles, they would probably try to do it without a complaint.”
    Though the team is mostly veteran runners, newcomer Destiny Neureuther, an eighth grader, is showing running potential. She is following in the footsteps of her aunt, Earlene Neureuther, who was a notable runner at Houlton High School and in college, as well.
    “Destiny is really impressing me this year,” Ewings said. “She is really standing out.”
    Neureuther was the third girl overall at the Fort Kent meet.
     Freshman Micah Wiley is showing promise, too.
    “You will see great things out of him,” said Ewings. “Coming into the program, his work ethic was probably the strongest.”
    Anchoring the team are seniors Chris Morin, Kasi Parker, McKenzie Burns and Britta Sjoberg.
    “Chris is our strongest runner,” said Ewings. “He is fun to have on the team and he adds to the team. Kasi is by far the most improved runner at this point. She is feeling good about her progress.
    “McKenzie is by far the most coachable,” Ewings added. “He asks the most appropriate questions. The ones he needs to ask me. What I tell him to do, he just does. Britta is an athlete. She keeps the whole team together. She knows what it takes to get the job done.”
    Juniors Zach Straubel and Jaron Gray are also key contributors to the team.
    “Jaron is a great kid,” said Ewings. “He keeps me straight. He makes sure my I’s are dotted and my T’s are crossed. He completes the team. He’s always at practice … the first one there and ready to go.
    “Zach is doing exactly what I am asking of him,” she added. “In Presque Isle, he may not have had the fastest time, but he ran that race exactly the way I taught him to run that race.”
    Rounding out the team is another eighth grader Whitney Cote.
    “She does exactly what I tell her do, as well,” Ewings said. “She gives her all at all times. You can see the desire she has for running at the meets.”
    GHCA has competed in two meets and hosted a home meet yesterday.
    “I’ve seen improvement each week with them,” Ewings said. “It’s taken some time for the kids to realize it, but at the last meet, none of them had to walk. They were excited and saying positive things about running. That in itself is an accomplishment.”
    From late summer preseason training to now, Ewings has asked each runner to do one thing … trust her.
    “They are willing and I told them from day one, they need to trust me to start with the basics and each week they would see a change.”
    As a veteran runner herself, Ewings doesn’t want her runners to get caught up in comparison of her skill with their ability.
    “I always steer them away from that,” she said. “I tell them what works for me, it may not always be what the book says, but I have tried and learned through experience what has worked for me.”
    GHCA runners are learning by doing the work and giving the effort, results happen.
    “It’s not going to happen overnight,” Ewings said. “My goal is to teach them. I’m here to encourage them not discourage them.”