Lilya Nikoghosyan is a senior here at Glendale High School. During her spare time, she enjoys reading books, binge-watching movies and shows, crocheting, scrapbooking and journaling. She is also the co-captain of our varsity cross country team and the founding president of the GHS Photography Club.

As a child, Lilya always enjoyed running for fun. While most people would consider running to be exhausting, she saw it as an opportunity to feel free. After eighth grade, when the physical education class would run a mile every week, she became more convinced of the fact that she wanted to increase her running skills. She talked about the cross-country sport with her physical education teacher, Mrs. Brigg, and she encouraged Lilya to participate. For Lilya, this was like a light switched on in her head, because she had never considered competitive running before. 

Lilya wanted to start running at her middle school before going to her first tryout, but the pandemic caused everything to go haywire, so things didn’t go exactly as planned. They didn’t resume the program there until a year following Lilya’s middle school graduation. 

Fortunately, our GHS athletics department visited Wilson Middle School near the end of Lilya’s final school year, to encourage new freshmen to participate in athletics. Eager to begin her quest, Lilya swung by the cross-country table and signed up without hesitation.

Despite begging her friends to participate with her, Lilya initially felt anxious because she didn’t know anyone who was trying out. But soon after joining the team, Lilya’s life changed, as she finally discovered her people, connected with them right away and even found her best friends. She began to know everyone on the team and established connections with them at the summer meets during her freshman year. 

Cross country differs from other sports in that it does not require its athletes to acquire new talents, but it does require a lot of practice, especially running consistently. Lilya and her teammates run five miles a day during practice, which is about 75–90 minutes of nonstop running. Additionally, they incorporate speed workouts, putting on their full acceleration pace, or even mile intervals—a workout in which they run one-mile stretches at a challenging pace, followed by a recovery jog or walk. This is all an effort to increase their speed and endurance. 

One thing Lilya likes to communicate with others is the difference between games and meets. Meets are usually multi-competition events with individual races and sports, like track and field. Games, however, only have a single contest rule match. Unlike other sports, cross country is an invitational event that brings together students from various schools to participate. It’s always situated at a trail or mountain run.

Cross-country competition involves more than just winning; it also involves surpassing your own personal record. And from the beginning of her freshman year until the end of her senior year, this has been Lilya’s main objective. She has wanted to give it her best in an attempt to boost her personal record. 

Although she has been dedicated to the cross-country team since the start of her freshman year, Lilya did not attend every practice that was offered before the season. Even though she was aware that it was only the beginning, she didn’t let it stop her from getting better. But as she started her junior year, everything depended on her willpower. She pushed herself to be the best in all she did.

Lilya’s fastest time during her freshman year was about thirty minutes, which she knew was slow, but she took this as an opportunity to keep getting stronger. Each year, Lilya sets a new goal and beats her previous time by a minute or two. 

Since she is aware that it is difficult to surpass any personal record, she is proud of her accomplishments, and she has been able to shave seven minutes off her time over the course of the last four years. 

Overall, Lilya appreciates the support that the entire team gives to one another. Even during practice or at a competition, they are constantly encouraging and wishing each other the best of luck. The entire team enjoys the bus rides as well. They take pictures, joke around and laugh, trying to capture every moment they can before the season is over.

Ultimately, Lilya’s decision to join the cross-country team has been the finest one she has made before starting at GHS. Being a member of the team makes her feel like a different person, because she has learned new things and realized her true potential. 

To learn more about Lilya, you can read an article about her being the president of the Photography Club. And if you are interested in joining the cross country or track and field team, email Coach Bob Bailey at [email protected]. Everyone should definitely try out!