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| Windham High School Cross Country runner Estella Inman is this week's 'Athlete of the Week.' PHOTO BY EZRA SMITH |
Windham sophomore Estella Inman has played many sports, from
soccer to baseball to basketball to tennis. She and her family would shoot
hoops in the yard, play baseball or have road races and sShe decided to switch
to cross country because her sister ran it and told her how much fun it was and
how close the team is.
Inman said joining cross country was the best decision she ever
made. Before she knew it, that team became like a second family.
Her favorite part about running cross country is crossing the
finish line and cheering for her teammates as they finish.
“I
love the feeling of knowing that I gave it my all, leaving it all on the trail.
Although my teammates and I feel like dying at the end of the race, we still go
to talk to our other teammates who finished, knowing that each and every one of
us pushed ourselves to the limit for each other.”
Aside from cross country, she’s also played basketball. She loved
being on a team where everyone worked towards a common goal. This winter, Inman
joined the Unified basketball team. It was a truly amazing experience for her because she got to see
and help kids play basketball, but really just become friends.
“The athletes
show the true meaning of sports when they hand the ball to the other team,
allowing a kid on that team to score, even if it means that our team loses.”
Cross country has taught her to be herself because everyone on her team embraces each other and
their weirdness, no matter what. It also taught her how much she is capable of
if she puts her mind to it. She learned to love pushing herself to see what her
capabilities are. She’s incredibly proud of herself and how far she’s come.
Inman is recovering from a stress injury and hasn’t been able to
run for a while, but recently she’s started up again, and says it feels so good
to be back at it.
She
plans to meet with the team throughout the summer while being smart about
social distancing.
During this time, Inman’s advice to other athletes is to refocus
on why they love their sport. Sometimes, Inman asks herself, ‘why put all this
work in? Is it worth it?’
“This
is when I have to think of the feeling at the end of a race, to slow down, let
go, and just run,” she said.
Over
the seasons, Inman has become close with her team because they are all
competing against themselves and each teammate goes through the pain together,
but then, get to celebrate together. An important lesson Inman has learned is if
you want to improve your team, you need to focus on yourself first.
She
is very inspired by Coach Jeff Riddle; his dedication to the team is
unbelievable. “I would not have had the same season that I did last fall if I
hadn’t had Riddle on his bike cheering me on from the side of the trail.”
When
Inman isn’t running, she’s walking her dogs and also enjoys painting, art and
baking. She skis in the winter, but is looking forward to summer activities
like swimming, gardening and anything outside. She is looking forward to the
fall track season. <
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