Junior Lily Holcomb has been running cross country since her first year at John Carroll.

She practices every day with the team after school and runs in open marathons throughout the year to help herself improve. In Lily’s free time, she hangs out with her friends and loved ones.

She said, “I first started running to try something new and challenge myself, but I’m grateful that it turned into a sport that I really love and that it became a part of my life that I don’t think I could live without now.”

Lily is even interested in continuing to run at the college level and is excited to do more research on where she would want to continue her running career. Although she isn’t certain on a place where she would want to attend, her main goal is getting to run in college.

Besides cross country, Lily also runs for the girls indoor and outdoor track and field team. Both cross country and outdoor track are Lily’s favorite sports because she loves the good weather that she gets to run in. She is not as much of a fan of the 200-meter track that is at indoor meets, and she would rather run on outdoor trails and tracks.

Lily’s goals are for her to remain consistent, to push herself, and to look back on her career in running and feel like she did everything she could to be the best that she could be.

She said, “I want to remember all my PRs that were made from my dedication and from me working as hard as I could.”

Throughout Lily’s career, she has had many memorable events that have happened, but there was one that sticks out the most to her.

“My most memorable race was the Gator one in 2024. It was the 1600 meter, and I got a PR 30 seconds faster than my time before, which was a huge jump for me.”

Not only did Lily get a huge PR in this race, but she also finished first in her meet, making her feel super confident and accomplished.

As Lily continues to run cross country this year, she grows friendships with many people; she looks to her coaches for tips, and she works hard, allowing herself to get better every day.