Every race begins the same way for freshman runner Lily Fawcett \u2014 a rhythm in her legs, a steady beat in her chest and a pep talk with her teammates before the gun goes off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cross country has always been more than just running for her.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s endurance, focus and most importantly, heart. Every early run in Austin reminds her why she does it \u2014 and her teammates play a major role.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI recently figured out that if I talk with my teammates and keep being social, it helps,\u201d Fawcett said. \u201cIf I focus too much, it becomes a bigger thing than it\u2019s meant to be. So I just have a good time, try to laugh as much as I can and be around my teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fawcett\u2019s road to Texas wasn\u2019t exactly easy.<\/p>\n
She first committed to Colorado State, but as her times improved, Texas assistant coach Sarah Smith saw something special in her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing about Lily is that she didn\u2019t have the smoothest recruiting process,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI really loved her composure during the process. And I think the level of communication, trust and composure she had during the recruiting process kind of solidified everything for me in terms of what I knew she\u2019d be like as an effective member of our team.\u201d<\/p>\n
That trust, Fawcett said, ended up changing everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoach Smith gave me the opportunity to come visit Texas,\u201d Fawcett said. \u201cShe knew I belonged here and gave me that second opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
During her recruitment visit, Fawcett was hosted by senior runner Elizabeth Pickett, who knew right away she\u2019d fit in.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of freshmen can be nervous to join a college team, but she was so open and inviting. She really meshed well with the girls,\u201d Pickett said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That sense of connection has defined Fawcett\u2019s journey since she first started running.<\/p>\n
Her mom, Jenna Fawcett, said her daughter\u2019s competitive side showed up in her early years of growing up. Once Fawcett started running in middle school, it all just clicked. She came home one day and told Jenna she beat all the boys in her P.E. class, giving Jenna an idea of her skill.<\/p>\n
The realization turned into a defining story in their family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Jenna, before Fawcett\u2019s first-ever meet, she was so nervous that she thought she would come in last place.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when she came around the corner, it was just her \u2026 way ahead of everyone else,\u201d Jenna said.\u00a0 \u201cThere was a golf cart leading the runners \u2026 and she just started chasing it \u2026 I still sometimes tell her that, \u2018Go chase that golf cart.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
This fall, Fawcett wasted no time generating a major impact.<\/p>\n
She debuted at the Stormy Seas Opener in 18:24.18, placed ninth at the UIW Invitational in 18:05.5 and ran a personal best of 17:18.2 at the Chile Pepper Invitational, helping the Longhorns take home the team title. At pre-nationals, she posted a collegiate-best 6K time of 21:28.0.<\/p>\n
Fawcett said she\u2019s focused on growth and enjoying the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re here for a reason, and coach believes in you. Take advantage of not having as much pressure and just run pressure-free,\u201d Fawcett said. \u201cJust don\u2019t count yourself out.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the sun rises over the trails in Austin, Fawcett finishes another run with the same rhythm that carried her from Cypress to the Forty Acres, still chasing after that golf cart. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every race begins the same way for freshman runner Lily Fawcett \u2014 a rhythm in her legs, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-273571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}