Presley Smith is a freshman at Potosi High School who is actively involved in her first year of high school cross country. Presley has been involved in cross country for 3 years. She started running when she was in 7th grade for the middle school cross country program. Since then she has dedicated most of her time and effort to pushing herself to be the best runner she can be.
Head coach Amanda Politte said “Presley sets her mind on a goal and works hard until she achieves it. This helps her teammates bring up their level of competition. She is a good friend and encourages everyone on the team. She doesn’t back down from a challenge in a workout or a meet.”
The Cross-Country team has run in seven races so far. The first race was at St. Vincent, where she placed 4th. The second race was at Arcadia Valley, where she placed 7th. The third race was in Joplin, where she placed 23rd out of 185 runners. In Joplin, she was the first Freshman to cross the finish line. The fourth race was in Columbia where Smith placed 21st out of over 180 runners. Their fifth race was in Farmington which was 2 miles on the track where Smith placed 6th. The sixth race was the Potosi home meet where Smith placed 6th. And the seventh race was at Farmington where she placed 7th.
Sophomore Peyton Hefiner said “Presley has pushed me to be a better runner by showing me how to compete and be competitive. She is my competitor but most importantly she is my teammate. She is an amazing athlete and she pushes me to be my absolute best.”
So far this year Smith has already accomplished so much. She is currently competing for the number one girl’s varsity spot. She was the Unico Bank athlete of the week. She has already won multiple medals. She also has set a new PR twice now. First at the Arcadia Valley race where she shaved 1:26 from her old record of 22:19. Secondly in Columbia on the state course where she ran a 20:52. She also ended up 6th in Conference.
Smith is proud of her accomplishments she said “ I feel challenged for sure. It has been a big change and it’s hard as a freshman running with people 3 to 4 years older than me but the environment is amazing and really uplifting. I love my team and coach a lot.”
Presley contributes a lot to Potosi High School’s cross-country team. She not only pushes herself to be a better athlete but also her teammates as well. She makes sure to do the little things that matter when it comes to running such as getting enough sleep, eating well, staying hydrated throughout the day, and stretching regularly.
Senior Allie Land Said “I think that Presley just really has the work ethic needed to be an amazing runner. Every practice and every workout she is trying her hardest and pushing to be the best she can be. I have extremely high hopes for her this year.”
Senior Cross-Country Runner and Presley’s brother Alex Smith said, “It’s been different but overall good. We get along well, and we try to push each other the best we can.”
Every day Smith works hard to accomplish her goals and perform at the best level possible. She will continue working till she reaches the top. Smith and the Cross Country team have many more meets ahead of them. Their next cross-country meet is Thursday the 24th at North County.
