Some coaches at SHS agree that work ethic is one of the most important attributes among athletes. One of these coaches is girls cross country coach Nathan Fishel who says that junior Adrianna Frederick has greatly improved her skills as a runner through her work ethic.  

“I’ve definitely gotten a lot faster. I’ve gotten a lot more confident,” said Frederick.

As of Aug. 29, Frederick has led the team in all three of their meets as the top runner on varsity. However, she hasn’t always been the team’s leading runner. From her time as a freshman to now being a junior, she has shown an immense amount of improvement and growth as an athlete because of her work ethic according to Fishel.

“I want to be the number one runner, but I also want to lead my team,” Frederick said.

During her freshman year, she was on JV and wasn’t close to being among the top runners on the team. She improved throughout the year and earned a spot on varsity her sophomore year. She was among the top seven and consistently placed in the top five.

“As a freshman, (Frederick) was not running varsity. Not close to varsity,” Fishel said.

She had room for improvement and decided to put in the work according to Frederick. She runs with the team during practice, but also does swimming, cycling and runs on her own outside of school. Frederick’s first 5K as a freshman was 30 minutes, and her fastest time this year has been 21 minutes flat. This is a considerable improvement in such a short amount of time, according to Fishel. She has also lost over 40 pounds since her freshman year.

“I absolutely have never had any stronger work ethic,” Fishel said. “I’ve never had a kid come from that far kind of back to not only be up in the varsity, but to be the number one runner on a team. That’s good. That’s been the sectional champs the past two years. That’s just unheard of, and I’ve never had it until now.”

SHS has had three meets so far, and Frederick has won individual in all three. She has led the team with a 21 minute 5K against Perry Meridian on Aug. 14, a 21 minute 5K on Aug. 18 at the Richmond Invitational and a 12 minute 3K against Roncalli on Aug. 28.

Frederick is seen as a leader by her fellow teammates. She says she tries to set a good example by pushing herself and encouraging others.

“She’s really inspirational,” said teammate and senior Rebecca Hiller. “She worked and she worked and she worked at it, and now she’s like the fastest on the team.”

Frederick is very proud of being a leader according to Hiller.

“If I can do it, going from JV to varsity, then they can definitely do it,” Frederick said.