October 3, 2022 by Emilia Hall (’26) and Savannah Winter (’26)
The Saratoga Springs High School girls’ varsity cross-country team is well known across the country for winning numerous state and national competitions. This team is one of the most successful at SSHS, having been ranked the number one girl’s cross-country team in the nation for the past 3 years after winning the Nike Cross Nationals back in 2019. The coaches of 36 years, Art and Linda Kranik, have led the team to30 Section 11 Class A championships and multiple Class A state championships, including, most recently, in the 2021-22 school year..
Within the cross-country team, there are numerous athletes who are very inspirational and have unbelievable careers ahead of them–Sheridan and McKinley Wheeler are just two of the incredible athletes on the team. The girl’s inspiration was pretty simple, McKinley said, “when I was in 4th grade, we had to run a mile for P.E class and I did very well so my P.E teacher suggested that I go run in Mr. and Mrs. Kranick’s summer running program.” Sheridan also began running in the 4th grade, marking the beginning of both of their running careers.
It’s inevitable that successful teams like this one must endure hard and long practices to maintain greatness. As to the culture of the team, Sheridan said, “we are all dedicated and supportive of each other. Running together has formed a strong bond between us.” McKinley’s agreed, stating, “we all support our teammates and help push one another to further our improvement.”
The most important part of participating, especially at this level, is loving the sport. The Wheelers struggled to say what their favorite parts of being Cross Country runners are. McKinley said, “I would have to say that every part is my favorite, from the training to racing. The feeling of success and accomplishment when finishing a workout or race is rewarding.” Sheridan said,” I love running in the fall and on the trails through the woods. I also love traveling and running in new places.”
In addition to Sheridan and McKinley’s amazing and ongoing careers at Saratoga Springs High School, both of their futures are looking up. Both girls will be continuing their running careers at Iowa State University which is a D1 program. Sheridan and McKinley Wheeler, as well as other members of the varsity team, are excited to have successful careers and do great things with the sport in the future.