Her feet pound on the ground. Air rushes in and out of her lungs. Her hair is thrown back and forth in the wind.

Sophomore Glennis Murphy has been running since she was in the sixth grade. She joined the cross country team last year and was the highest scoring member of the girls’ team in MCALs and placed seventh out of 108 girls in the NCS individuals.

Murphy is one of four captains on the team, and said she draws inspiration from last year’s captains.

“I just want to bring a good atmosphere,” Murphy said. “I want to be someone the JV can look up to, so I want to be a good model. I think it’s really important to set a good example for the other people on the team.”

According to senior cross country runner and co-captain Mary Monda Oewel, Murphy is a strong competitor on the team and brings the energy level to new heights, especially since she is an underclassman.

“Having her there is just something everyone wants to reach for, so she’s the competition on the team,” Oewel said.

Murphy works hard on the team and pushes her teammates to be the best they can, according to Oewel.

“[Murphy] is really put together, so it’s nice having somebody who’s so on top of stuff,” Oewel said. “The reason that we’re all co-captains together is that we all bring something different to the team. I think she really brings that competition factor.”

Head coach Laura Schmitt said that Murphy is a strong student-athlete as well as a good role model for the rest of the team.

“Glennis is intense when she needs to be intense,” Schmitt said. “She’s goofy and light when she needs to be goofy and light, and she is kind to everyone on the team no matter what’s going on with her.”

According to Schmitt, Murphy is a thoughtful leader and runner as well as a role model for the other girls on the team.

“She’s very deliberate, she thinks about what she’s doing, nothing is accidental,” Schmitt said.

Murphy runs year-round. After cross country, she participates in winter training, track and field in the spring, and then summer training.

Murphy credits her dad for inspiring her to run, and said she loves the competition of running, as well as the freedom it gives her.

“I originally wanted to start running because my dad ran in high school and he talked about how much he loved it,” Murphy said. “Being able to run as fast as I can is so liberating.”

According to Murphy, the team this year is extremely strong and she looks forward to the upcoming season.

“We have a solid top five and for our other seven, we have a ton of people who can fill those spots,” Murphy said. “We have a really strong team from one to seven. ”

According to Schmitt, the team is strong academically and competitively.

“Our girls are just incredible student-athletes. They want to be the best, they’re not shy about it, they’re competitive when it’s appropriate, and they’re nurturing and comforting,” Schmitt said.

The cross country team has competed in two meets so far, the first against Justin Siena, San Marin, and Branson, and the second against Terra Linda and San Rafael, both of which they won. Last year, Redwood came in second in MCALs after Branson and fourth in NCS.