Junior Lily Rollings is ranked 9th in the state in cross country with a PR (personal record) of 18:05. State competition will be held at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course on Nov. 2.

No matter the circumstance, Rollings always gives her all.

“From what I’ve seen, it’s gone by great. We’ve got a lot of great kids out there. Obviously, Lily is a special athlete with special gifts. The most important thing about her is she gives her best at everything she does every single day. This season Lilly is stronger, she’s confident, she does nothing but work hard. Her approach this season is fantastic and now she gets to put all her hard work on display,” Mr. Jerrod Watson, strength coach, said.

She has worked hard to get to the top.

“We all see her work hard in practice and outside of practice. It’s motivating to see her do so well through the meets and winning. It motivates the team to do better and work harder,” junior Kara Ennis said.

Parents being supportive of their child’s dreams and achievements is key to a star athlete.

“My parents are probably my biggest motivators because they’re very encouraging and motivating for me to keep running. They are good at encouraging my success,” Rollings said.

Training in the summer translates to how the girls run during competition.

“Summer training was a big part in preparing for State because it was like a base, and we put in a lot of miles and a lot of workouts over the summer to help us prepare to get to this point,” junior Lily Rollings said.

She might seem like she is quiet, but she always cheers on her teammates.

“She, believe it or not, can be vocal at practice, which doesn’t happen very often. She does cheer on her teammates during a workout to bring them in. She hollers at everybody at some point,” Coach Tad Frahm said.

She might work in silence, but it is what makes her better than everyone else.

“She is just tough. She works her tail off, she does it quietly. She hardly ever wears out. I mean I could try to wear her out, and I’m not sure it would happen,” Coach Frahm said.

She is the example for the top student athlete with great grades and top performances in her sports.

“She sets an example not only at cross country but at school, too. I’ve never seen Lilly not give her absolute best on anything she does no matter how big or small the task,” Coach Watson said.

Aside from Rolling’s success, the team has enjoyed success.

“It has gone pretty well. We’ve had quite a few injuries on the girls team which means limited participation, but those that have ran have gotten better as the season goes on. We’ve had very good performances. I am a big difference from this season to last season. I am a new coach from last season. I have a different perspective just because I’m at practice everyday and I see things differently. I was at the meets last year, but that was because of my son Jackson who’s on the team,” Coach Frahm said.

Change is not always a negative thing.

“We had a change in coaching staff which was hard to adjust to, but we adjusted well and were doing well with the new coach and new techniques,” Rollings said.