Students as Mehlville have many different options when it comes to sports. Tucker Ragan decided to choose cross country, which is a sport where you run long distances in many different areas. Tucker joined Cross Country when his friends from the STRETCH program recommended him the sport when they saw how fast he ran. When tucker heard this he didn’t forget and during his Freshman year, he officially joined the Cross Country team for the 23-24 school year.

Tucker talks on the training that has to take place in order for him to be more successful at the sport.

“We run 3-4 miles to build our base and to see how long we can run, but sometimes we go to the weight room to build our arms and core exercises to get my posture correct, and stretches to prevent cramps.” said Ragan

With a new year there brings a new team with new challenges

“I think the boys cross country team is overall better this year, even though we lost our fastest runner, but were doing good” Ragan explains.

What makes Cross Country different from Track is that you get to run in many different areas. While some might be a chore and have its cons, many places are a good experience for Cross Country students to enjoy.

“During the last meet of my freshman year we went to Jefferson Barracks and that was fun because I was very energetic and tried to put in my all, and it was my last meet of the season.” Ragan says.

When Tucker first began doing Cross Country during his Freshman year he went through many challenges, as it was brand new to him

“my longest run was my first run during my freshman year because I wasn’t familiar with the pacing, so I burnt myself out” Ragan tells us.

Even though Tucker is more experienced, there are many hard and challenging runs he has to go through, even during his sophomore year.

“my hardest run was probably the first meet of this year at Perryville. It was very hot, and the ground was very dusty, so we couldn’t wear spikes, so instead we had to wear running shoes.” Ragan explains. “I would want them to be ready to dedicate themselves to the sport and not to give up because last year a lot of people ended up quitting, so i’d recommend being in the right mindset” Ragan adds on.

With all the opportunities given to us here at Mehlville, Cross Country is a great option if you are good at running, want to travel to different places, and it’s a good place to have fun and make new friends. For everyone out there who is interested, or thinking about joining Cross Country feel free to ask Tucker any questions about it if you see him around MHS.