After many long morning and nightly runs in sunshine or downpours, it’s a wrap for the 2023 cross-country season. Sophomore Elijah Judd has made an impact this season with all of his accomplishments.
As a sophomore, he tied the all-time sophomore record of 16:29.00, helped win the conference title with his team, and was the only runner to qualify for the WIAA Division I state meet.
Judd’s preparation for cross country started in the summer, with lots of running and attendance at the summer lifts to stay in shape.
Pat Schneider has been the boy’s varsity head coach since 2014.
Over the summer running, Schneider was creating his goals for the season to come, and he had noticed the performance of Judd.
“I saw Eli Judd specifically train over the summer. I thought, yeah, this kid has what it might take to make it to state,” Schneider said.
According to Judd, his teammates were a huge part of his season. They would do a lot of team bonding such as going out to eat, and having sleepovers, they had really grown together throughout the season. His team was very supportive of Judd throughout his accomplishments.
Although he was unable to do so, Judd’s goal this season was to beat the school sophomore record at the West Allis Invite on Oct. 16. He tied this record, which was still a massive accomplishment for Judd.
This season, the boy’s team won the Badger Small Conference title with a score of 41 points.
“Going into the season, we knew we had a slight chance [of winning conference]; as a team, we improved a lot, and we knew there was a higher chance of being conference champions,” Judd said.
The role as a coach is always to want the best for their athletes. Schnider pushes his athletes to meet their goals and perform their best each day. His biggest goal for the season was to win the conference title, so as a coach, he pushed for that.
“That day was a team celebration, Schneider said. “It was good for their confidence. We talked about it being a possibility, but none of the kids on this team had won conference before. It was almost like a dream come true. It’s the kind of thing you fight for. I’ve been on another conference championship team, but I think this one was very special because it was so close.”
After the conference championship, Judd’s process in qualifying for the state meet was nerve-racking and stressful. In order to qualify for state, Judd needed to place in the top five at the sectional meet on Oct. 21, in Verona at Stewarts Woods. Throughout this process, Schneider would tell him, “You’re running for something.” This is what motivated Judd.
Preparing for state was different from the regular season. Judd had to eat healthy constantly, always drink a sufficient amount of water, and get a lot of rest. His practices looked very similar running-wise, but the team aspect differed as they did not run with him.
His teammates Alex Smith and Gabe Schneider joined Judd so he wouldn’t have to run alone.
“I guided him throughout his last week of training leading up to state, I think I played a big part in his season [by] keeping him motivated, it paid off, he had an outstanding race.” Smith Said.
One of the biggest challenges for long-distance runners is overstimulation. While preparing for state, Judd often had to rest when he became tired. Judd’s coach, Schneider didn’t want him to persevere through the tiredness or soreness like usual; he wanted him to stop so he wouldn’t over-fatigue his legs.
“The biggest challenge with Eli is sometimes reining him in. So some days, he wants to go faster and farther, and you have to tell him, I want you to do less. Because in running, if you go hard every day, you’ll get hurt and burned out; it’s not a good outcome,” Schneider said.
At state, almost the entire varsity team went to cheer on Judd for his race. This helped Judd feel more confident and like he wasn’t alone at the end of his journey. During the race, Judd was racing with the top competitors in the state and had to persevere through the emotions of the outcome of his performance and focus on what was ahead of him.
“[I would] just look at the person ahead of me and drive past them. And then stay ahead,” Judd said.
The state course had many hills, but was more manageable than Judd had expected.
“I think going into [state], hopefully next year, I’ll be able to race [the course] faster and more competitively,” said Judd.