My Story: Cross Country/Track & Field's Jenna Vaughn

In my opinion, the WKU Cross Country and Track and Field teams will ultimately prove that this situation will make us even stronger as teams and individuals. Being at home for so long without getting to train with my team has definitely been a frustrating and difficult experience, but it was absolutely necessary for the safety and well-being of others. A large part of my motivation comes from my teammates and coaches and it just was not the same virtually. But, the prospect of being able to come back to campus and train together and possibly race really helped to motivate and push me.

I was also able to go on runs with my little sister, which was helpful because I occasionally had someone to train with. To keep from going stir-crazy, I kept busy by training, spending extra time with my family and cultivating gardens on my family farm.

Being sent home from WKU was not ideal, but the coaching staff, administrators and professors did their best to ensure a good education and athletic environment. My cross country coach, Coach LeCompte, gave us all of our workouts ahead of time and made sure to communicate with us. He made adjustments if we needed them and he kept the whole team motivated during our time away.

Returning to campus is really exciting for me. I will be able to train with my teammates again and get in-person coaching. There are many precautions that have been put in place to hopefully prevent the spread of COVID-19. Our team will definitely be doing their best to prevent the spread and hopefully there will not be an outbreak campus wide. No matter what, the safety and health of others is the main concern and our coaches have made that clear.

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