Sophomore Cassidy Armstrong broke both the
school record, as well as her own personal record
at the 5000 meter cross country race on October 4,
2023, at an Ingraham, Franklin and Ballard meet at
Lincoln Park.
The new standing record, established by
Armstrong, is 17 minutes and 49.2 seconds. The
previous record had been established in 2018 by
Anastasia Konugres, and was 18 minutes and 50
seconds long, meaning that Armstrong broke the
previous record by over one minute.
“I worked really hard,” Armstrong said. “So it’s
nice to see the results coming from all the work.”
Armstrong began running in eighth grade,
originally competing in track and field. She
eventually began cross country freshman year,
explaining that she wanted to do a school sport,
meet new people and compete in a running sport in
the fall.
Since then, she has continued to run both cross-
country and track, and has been enjoying it. For as
long as she has been running cross-country, she has
been running for BHS.
When asked what motivated her to run, she
answered, “I just want to keep getting better,”
Armstrong said. Her competitiveness and desire to
win were huge factors. Breaking a record, therefore,
was an ideal goal.
“It was our last time running on this one course,”
Armstrong said. “It was really good weather and
it was a flat course, and so I knew it was probably
my best opportunity of the season to go below 18
minutes.”
Armstrong spoke about how there was a lot of
pressure on her that day, with everyone expecting
her to break the record.
“I just tell myself people are gonna ask me how
I did,” Armstrong said. “My coaches are gonna see
how I did, and I want to be able to be proud of my
time.”
Running, like any sport, comes with its fair share
of pain. In the best cases, that includes aching joints
and scraped knees. In the worst, broken limbs and
twisted ankles.
“The pain during the race only lasts twenty
minutes,” Armstrong said. “And then the time is like
time forever, and I have to see my times forever.”
A credo of hers is that she’d rather feel terrible
and have a good time, than feel (physically) good
and have a bad time.
When Armstrong entered freshman year last
year, she began cross-country and later track-and-
field with the BHS team.
“Everybody’s really supportive,” Armstrong
said. “Everybody cheers you on, and at practice,
everybody’s just really supportive, and everybody
works as a team.”
Armstrong lacked previous experience with
cross-country, and only ran track-and-field for a
few weeks in eighth grade, where the schedule was
much less rigorous, with her team meeting just
once a week. Now, Armstrong is on a team with an
intensified structure, meeting once a day. However,
this hasn’t been too much of a bother for her, and
she mentions really enjoying the experience she has
gained in cross-country.
Armstrong says that she isn’t planning on making
a career out of running, but would really like to
participate in a Division one program, and has
goals to get the best time possible to maximize her
chances.
“I just try to do everything the best I can,”
Armstrong said.
