Eleventh grader Natalie Jolley is known to her peers by many adjectives: driven, dedicated, and inspiring, to name a few. Natalie is involved in many extracurricular activities within Bellefonte and is a leader in both cross-country and track and field.
This cross-country season has been many things, but easy is most definitely not one of them. Throughout the course of the season, Natalie has consistently placed among the top runners in the district. These feats of athleticism are all widely impressive in their own regards, however, several teammates noted Natalie’s humility and graciousness in victory.
“I think Natalie’s strongest trait is probably her positivity and stubbornness. I don’t mean stubborn in a negative way, but she doesn’t like to give up and she doesn’t like to lose and that makes her a strong runner, competitor, teammate, and person,” said junior Addison “Addy” Fry.
Other key teammates throughout the season have been Emma Burger and Anna Tyson, as they have both helped propel Bellefonte to an 8-2 record on the season. Despite Bellefonte boasting a winning record, it was not for a lack of adversity. Many of Natalie’s teammates stated that the competition throughout this season has been increasingly difficult compared to previous years. Despite this, Natalie continued pushing her way through, improving her times and bolstering the team’s scores.
While the Bellefonte cross-country team has a deep roster, it is not just the athleticism that makes the team who they are.
“I enjoy the people who are involved with cross-country the most. We have such a great support system and team,” Natalie said.
Many people may think that running is just an easy or boring sport, however, it is clear that cross-country is one of the most physically taxing sports there are, and Natalie is at the forefront of it all. Running a personal best time of 20:41, Natalie has been at the center of the Bellefonte XC team since her freshman year.
Natalie’s bid for a PIAA State Championship truly set her apart from the rest. Natalie qualified for state’s at the PIAA District 6 Championship on October 26. Natalie ran a time of 20:56.04, which put her eleventh overall in the girls AA bracket. It was at States, however, that Natalie truly showed off, running a 22:15.00, putting her in the top 150 runners in all of PA. This one race would be arguably one of the most difficult of her career as the mounting pressure of a state tournament takes a heavy toll. Despite this Natalie persevered, not only becoming one of the best runners in the state, but achieving an athletic feat most could never dream of.
Natalie Jolley is one of the best and brightest athletes at Bellefonte High School, and her contributions to not only the cross-country team, but all of those around her is something truly remarkable.
