When Cassidy Winter started running cross country during her seventh grade year, it was simply a chore for her. She just did it to stay in shape for basketball. But once she got out on the track she discovered it was something that came naturally to her. And she found out she really enjoyed it.

“That first summer, I was just like don’t want to be here,” Winter said. “But when I found out I could win some races, and get some t-shirts, I thought ‘I’m actually pretty good at this, I’ll stick with it.’ I’ve got a lot of t-shirts now.”

Winter’s natural ability, plus the amount of time and work she puts in to honing her craft, is what led to her being chosen as Limestone County’s Girls Runner of the Year.

Winter, a sophomore at West Limestone, consistently finished in the top five of every race she entered this cross country season, including a second place at the Class 4A sectional meet and a fourth place finish at the Class 4A state meet at the Oakville Indian Mounds Park.

A few early morning nerves at the beginning of the state meet gave way to confidence as the start of the race approached, and Winter put in a solid performance, finishing in a time of 19:45.65, just nine seconds behind the third place finisher. Her performance helped West Limestone to a fifth place finish in the team competition.

“I was pretty confident once I got on the starting line,” Winter said. “I thought there’s nothing to lose, just put it all on the line. I finished better than I thought I would, as a team we finished pretty well. I was happy with where we finished.”

Winter is also the starting point guard for the West Limestone girls basketball team, and while she started running to stay in shape for that sport, it has become the sport she loves to compete in the most.

“I like the adrenaline rush and all the people that are there supporting you,” Winter said. “It’ not like a basketball game where people are going to be booing you or anything, everybody there is there to cheer on the runners. People on your team cheer you on and everybody else too, even the runners from rival schools.”

Each runner has a different strategy of how they approach a race, but Winter’s strategy has paid off for her at state two years in a row, as she also finished in fourth place in the 2016 state meet.

“It’s different for all runners but for me I start out fast at the beginning and find somebody and just stick with them the whole rest of the race even if I’m about to fall over dead,” she said with a laugh. “That’s what works for me.”

In order to stay competitive in the world of cross country, runners need to constantly run. Winter’s mother Carla Winter said that is something her daughter never slacks off at.

“She runs all summer, and really all year round for last three years,” Carla Winter said. “Her summers are running. She also runs on Christmas breaks, fall breaks, and spring breaks. She’ll miss out on trips and stuff sometimes but she enjoys it. It’s what she loves to do.”

Cassidy runs with her sister Carlie, a seventh grader who also competed at the state meet, finishing 55^th and scoring points for the Wildcats in the team competition. That is an example of the support she receives from family and friends as she continues to press on with her running career.

“Both of my parents, my church, and everybody have all been a big encouragement,” Winter said. “I’ve got a lot of good support from a lot of people.”