As freshmen, Lucie Semone and Rachel Bordes would run down the flats of Doherty Drive and through the rocky terrain of Phoenix Lake. It is through this time on the cross country team that the two girls found each other, and they continue to run side by side to this day, three years later.
“We are always there for each other and have grown up together on the track ever since we both made the varsity cross country team as freshmen,” Bordes said.
However, Bordes and Semone will part ways this fall as they continue their running careers at separate Division I running colleges. Bordes will be competing at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Semone will run at UCLA.
“We are always there for each other and have grown up together on the track ever since we both made the varsity cross country team as freshmen,” Bordes said.
The girls will finish their high school careers having run four years of cross country and two years of track together. They began their running careers at different times, however.
Bordes began her running career in middle school, following in the footsteps of her sister, who runs for UC Berkeley.
“I knew I wanted to run for college ever since I stepped onto the track freshman year,” Bordes said. “I would watch my sister run at Redwood and I wanted to be like her, running for college one day.”
On the other hand, Semone did not decide until her junior year that she wanted to focus solely on running. It was then that she quit lacrosse and joined the track team to train and improve during the spring as well.
“I’ve always enjoyed running, but I didn’t really plan on making it my main sport in high school,” Semone said.
Since she had participated in cross country in the fall, she knew she liked running, which made the decision to switch from lacrosse easier, she said.
“I went back and forth on choosing track over lacrosse. I had a good season with cross country in the fall, which made me make the decision,” Semone said.
Furthermore, according to Bordes and Semone, their coach Laura Schmitt has helped them tremendously improve their running through rigorous training every day.
“We are out on the track everyday during the week and on the weekends. Even in the summer mornings we will be out there every day,” Semone said.
Schmitt helped both runners start contacting coaches the spring of their junior years and the fall of their senior years.
“It was a stressful time. I went down for visits to schools in the summer as well as in the fall of my senior year,” Bordes said.
According to Bordes, the recruiting process for running occurs much later than it does in most sports. Schools can’t contact high school athletes until late into junior year and the the process doesn’t wrap up until the fall semester of senior year.
“It’s definitely a competitive process. There is a huge pool of girls in California that are fast as well and you have to come out on top,” Semone said.
While it was a competitive process, Bordes and Semone have been running with a team that is ranked nationally, which helped both girls improve significantly. The girls’ track and cross country team has won MCAL for the past four years.
This year the girls’ track team placed third at Arcadia and were ranked the fourth fastest team in the nation. The team was made up of Bordes, Semone, junior Glennis Murphy, sophomore Gillian Wagner, and sophomore Sophie McWhorter.
“We only have a few more weeks out on the Redwood track and I want to leave saying that I did my best and inspire other runners just like I was inspired by my sister,” Bordes said.
As for the rest of the season, Bordes wants to beat her personal record for the mile, breaking five minutes, while Semone wishes to knock seconds off her times as well.
In terms of their future goals, Bordes hopes to make the traveling team as a freshman and Semone hopes to improve her times for her respective events.
The team claimed the MCAL pennant on May 14 and is now on the road to NCS.
“As we head into more and more and meets it gets more competitive and we need to come out stronger every time,” Bordes said.
