For Andes Central/Dakota Christian (ACDC) senior, Nadia VanZuidam, this was both her first and her last year of cross-country. With this being her first year participating in cross-country, she did not really know what to expect. Nadia went out for cross-country with the goal of getting in shape during her off-season, but she did set goals for her cross-country season which included finishing every race, not getting last place and improving her time. At the beginning of the season, it took Nadia 30-31 minutes to complete a 5K. By the end of the season, she had shaved almost five minutes off of her time, which was a fantastic improvement.

What Nadia came to enjoy the most about cross-country was not only seeing her growth every race, but that of her teammates. For Nadia, she found that she could push her body to a completely different level physically that she had never been aware of. Her best race was at the Scotland Invitational Meet where she had a time of 25:24, which beat her personal goal of 26 minutes. The Pickstown golf course was Nadia’s favorite course this year as well as the one meet that she medaled at.

Nadia enjoys running at her own choice as a way to stay in shape outside of practicing. She greatly enjoyed the bus or van rides with her teammates and building the comradery that they had throughout the season. Nadia also expressed how grateful she was to those who showed up to cheer on her and her teammates or that even sent a good luck text. She took great comfort in the support she felt from those from the Thunder Nation throughout the season. Nadia is the daughter of Rich and Nicole VanZuidam.