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New coach at Cyprus brings excitement to cross country program

Oct 21, 2020 03:16PM ● By Greg James

Senior Logan Olsen finished the 3-mile course at Orem City Park in 19 minutes and 40 seconds. He is part of a resurgent Pirates cross country program. (Greg James/City Journals)

By Greg James | [email protected] 

There is new excitement along with a new coach for Cyprus High School’s cross country team.

“I worked with the kids a little bit last year before the pandemic hit,” first-year head coach Tim Nowicki said. “I jumped in with them for the short track season. This is a good group of girls and boys. They have been working hard all summer long.”

Nowicki comes to the Pirates from Chicago. 

“I am used to the gritty area like Cyprus. I think this team has a talent pool with lots of potential. We just need to tap into that,” he said.

In their first meet of the season at the Bruin Invitational at Mountain View High School, the Pirates showed off their skills but also gave a hint to the improvement possibilities. 

The girls were led by senior Kaylee Glover. Her 36th place finish with a time of 21 minutes 7 seconds was only slightly slower than her personal best last season at the Region 2 championships. 

“She (Glover) went through a transition with the new coaches and stuff, but she has stuck with it. I am excited for the rest of the season,” Nowicki said.

“Cross country is hard, and it takes a lot of dedication,” Glover said. “No matter how much you don’t want to run it is important to come to practice and put in the time and effort. It is a good environment.”

Cross country running is a team sport that incorporates individual accomplishments. The team of runners try to score points by finishing higher than its opponents. 

“We have several good runners that help to complement our top runner,” Nowicki said.

In the team’s first race of the season freshman Hannah Ellis and seniors Jael Hymas and Hannah Miles finished two, three, and four for the Pirates. 

“Hannah (Ellis) is from a middle school feeder. I am excited about what these girls have shown. Today was a good day for all of them,” Nowicki said at the conclusion of the event. “They are doing what they need to do despite all of the restrictions and limitations. We have about 40 kids on the roster. I think that is up from years past and they all seem excited.”

Senior Daniel Poulson is a captain and set a personal record in the first event of the season. His 16 minute 9 second 3-mile run led the team and finished 19th overall. Nowicki called him a “hard-working four-year kid.”

“It takes a lot of discipline to run cross country,” Poulson said. “Coming to practice every day is hard. I really think we will have a lot of PRs (personal records) this season.”

“This is an exciting group of kids so far. I am excited to see what we have coming up. I really wish I could have these seniors for one more year,” Nowicki said. “Cross country is unique, it is individual because you are running against yourself and it takes a lot of willpower and mental toughness. This is an outstanding group of kids so far.”