The last five years have seen the rise of Shipley’s Cross Country program, not only in terms of success through competing for and winning championships but also through establishing a pipeline of engaged runners across all grades and entrusting experienced coaches to meet the needs of Shipley’s talented student-athletes and take the program to the next level.

In 2019, Shipley parent Julianne Viscardo, a former distance runner at Clemson University, pitched the idea of creating a Middle School Cross Country team. Since its inception, the number of middle school runners and excitement around running have increased. Enhancing the excitement was the addition of the Gator Invitational, an annual Middle School cross country event with other local schools.

 

“I credit much of the recent Upper School success to the momentum behind our Middle School program,” said Shipley Athletic Director Justin Cooper, “you can see the talent and excitement around running.”

In recent years, a fifth-grade Encore Club focused on running was established to continue that pipeline down into the Lower School. 

“We’re now seeing student-athletes in our pipeline aspiring to be great runners,” said Cooper. 

Shipley’s built a coaching staff well versed in what it takes to build confidence in yourself as a runner which can open the door to collegiate possibilities. In addition to Viscardo, Shipley’s Director of Running, Justin Winters, who mainly focuses on coaching Upper School runners, has worked to build a program appropriate for high schoolers with a little extra support and expertise for those student-athletes looking to compete at the collegiate level. Shipley’s runners are participating in prestigious events like the New Balance Nationals and Penn Relays. As is the case with all Shipley athletic programs, the coaches are also charged with recognizing the individual worth of each student-athlete, encouraging personal and team goals, and building an engaging and fun culture.

Viscardo stresses that the mental aspects of the sport also have a major impact on the runner’s performance, and a lot of coaching energy goes into preparing an athlete’s mind for competition. 

"It’s just as important to get a runner’s “head right” as it is to properly train their bodies, Viscardo said. “Cross country, for example, is an internal collaboration between the mind and body to push through the pain over the last two miles in order to find the mental and physical toughness to win the race.”

Even though running is primarily an individual sport, the coaching staff works hard to create the ultimate team experience. “We're all coming here for different reasons,” said Winters, “but at the end of the day, we're becoming the best version of ourselves. It takes a tremendous amount of character.”

One of Winters’ goals for his student-athletes is to learn something about themselves. He hopes they realize they're capable of doing really hard things - that they can come back from things that didn’t go well. And they've met people along the way who have changed their lives.

The work done over the last several years became evident this past fall. Shipley’s Girls Cross Country team won the School’s first-ever Friends Schools League (FSL) Championship and took second place at the PAISAA State Championship, while the Boys Cross Country team finished second in the FSL Championship and sixth in the PAISAA Championship. Both are the highest places in school history. Seven student-athletes on the boys and girls teams earned FSL First Team Honors and three earned All-State honors. 

“Shipley Athletics will continue to lift up and support all our sports programs,” said Cooper. “ Specifically, our running schedules have gotten more competitive. Our program is more visible in the running community. We’re keeping up with the talents of our student-athletes and exposing them to top-flight events on regional and national levels. If the students are willing to put in the work, we’re here to support them. The momentum has been inspiring.”