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Catching her breath after an exhausting race, she looks over to her parents, a reminder of who inspired her dreams as a runner. Growing up, Josie Baker, senior, said she always knew she was destined to be a runner, as her siblings and parents had before her, it was in her DNA.
Baker used to attend her parents’ races, and said she always knew she wanted to do cross country in high school, but soccer was her true passion. However, during her freshman year, everything changed after her first cross country season.
“I was planning on doing soccer instead of track my freshman year, but I just loved the team so much, and I didn’t want to lose running,” Baker said. “I knew that was where I was supposed to be, and the team was a huge part of that.”
Ella Sottile, Pittsburgh State freshman and KHS alum, and Baker’s neighbor and has attended most of Baker’s meets and races. She said she knows firsthand the dedication Baker has put into the sport.
“She’s very dedicated and she perseveres through hardships with running, if she doesn’t feel good in a race, I know she still tries her hardest and she always makes an effort to do her best,” Sottile said. “She’s always out there practicing and running, no matter the day or the weather.”
Baker said running at KHS has been such a great experience for her. She said sometimes the sport can be both mentally and physically challenging for her, but she always finds her love for the sport again after a much needed run.
“It’s a very rewarding and therapeutic sport,” Baker said. “ I know once I run I’ll feel a lot better, it is sort of an outlet, being able to run with my teammates every day.”
Her hard work paid off as Baker signed to run cross country and track at Iowa State. She said even though it wasn’t where she saw herself originally, when she visited, she knew it was the right choice.
“I didn’t think it would be where I wanted to go, [but then I] fell in love with on my visit,” Baker said. “It was the only visit when I was there, I was like yeah this is my place, this is where I want to be, and there was so much that just felt right in every way.”
