Senior Alli Kline began her running career five years ago when she joined her track and field team in seventh grade at age twelve. "I started running mainly because I got excited when I ran the mile in middle school. Teachers would punish kids by making them run, but that wasn't a punishment for me," she said.

Kline attended high school in California for three years before moving to Wilbraham. During that time, she became more involved with cross-country. Despite being a novice to the sport, she was the top ranked runner during her freshman year. "I knew I had some natural ability, but it was really hard for me in the beginning because of my asthma," said Kline.

Running in California was also ddifficult because of the temperature. "Although the highest it got was around 110 degrees, it usually stayed around 70, which is tough when you're running long distances," she said.

The first race Kline ever ran was a disaster. "Honestly, I didn't know when and if I would finish because of my asthma. It was horrible," she said.



Though Kline excelled at cross-country at an early age, she didn't love running right away. "I hated it freshman year, but I stuck with it to prove my coach wrong. She was always ignoring the other runners and me, paying close attention to only the top runner of the team," she said.

Although Kline's experience with her coach was difficult at first, she enjoyed their relationship. "She was one of the best coaches I've ever had," she said.

Kline's teammates recognize the hard works she puts in to be successful. "She's a really determined athlete and is devoted to improving her running all the time," said sophomore

Tara Hedayat-Zadeh.

"Everything was set up different in California," said Kline. "There were no such things as dual meets. There was a meet once a week, which consisted of ten teams and on Saturdays there were always invitationals. Some of the invitationals require a cutoff time in order to run in

and were a little bit intimidating, but still really fun."

Kline is now a co-captain of the girls' cross-country team and is one of the top runners in the state. She finished her season successfully, but was injured at Individuals on November 2 so she did not place as well as she would have liked.

A lot of girls on the team look up to her as someone who knows what she wants to do and tries her best to get there. "Alli is an all-around great girl and has a great attitude no mater what," said junior runner Allison Soucie.

Senior Lindsay Balise agreed. "Alli is one of the nicest people I know. She's a fantastic person that will always try her best and do whatever it takes to be number one," she said.

Varsity Girls Cross Country Coach Charles Hill said that Kline's effort has made her successful. "She's always running more than anyone else and will continue to run after the workout is over, she truly loves cross country," he said.

Kline said that even though she is extremely competitive, she will continue running in the future because it doesn't matter if she wins or looses. "I can always do this and it will always make me feel better," she said.