Theresa Mueller quickly covers the final quarter-mile stretch of the Private School Championships cross country course in St. Paul with a smooth and efficient stride. She zooms through the finish line to complete her first-ever 4000-meter cross country race with an outstanding time and nearly two minutes ahead of the second place runner. The problem is that Theresa's convincing performance was in the junior varsity race, while her teammates and daily training partners were preparing to run in the upcoming varsity race.
Theresa is a sophomore student at Trinity School at River Ridge, a recent transfer from St. Agnes, and a first-year cross country runner. According to the Minnesota State High School League transfer rule, Theresa is not allowed to compete at the varsity level at her new school for one year in any sport.
The transfer rule was revamped in 2007 with a more stringent set of rules to keep students from school hopping for athletics, to eliminate "all-star" teams from forming at powerhouse athletic programs in specific sports, and to try to keep integrity and fairness of competition and sport.
Most students that transfer to a new school have the option to participate at the varsity level at their previous school for that one-year eligibility period, but St. Agnes has never offered cross country as a sport, so Theresa is out of options to compete as a varsity runner in 2012.
“I guess I thought the transfer rule only applied for students that had already participated previously in a sport,” said Theresa.
When she received the news that she would be ineligible for the 2012 cross country season at the varsity level, it was a difficult time for Theresa. “I was angry and sad. I thought, ‘What’s the point?’ Maybe I should wait until next year to run cross country if it doesn’t matter, but I realized that the training would help for the future.”
The lack of varsity competition hasn't seemed to slow Theresa down, as she is able to practice with the top Trinity runners each day and has quickly established herself as a leader and distance-running force in workouts.
Because of the grade-level race format at the Milaca Mega Meet last weekend, Theresa was able to run against some better competition and she gave everyone a glimpse of what she can do when pushed in a race. Theresa took the lead of the sophomore race at the halfway point with a strong uphill surge on a winding path and kept building her lead to win by more than 20 seconds.
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| Theresa Mueller at the Milaca Mega Meet as the Girls Sophomore race champion |
While Theresa won't be able to officially contribute to the team score this season, Trinity coaches are convinced she has already made an impact. “She raises the level of all of her teammates as she attacks each workout, pushing our top runners to run faster and motivating our younger runners to find their limits,” said assistant coach Kim Kelly-Sommer.
The thought of waiting until
2013 to race against top competition and try to earn a trip to the State Meet is
discouraging for Theresa, but she is trying to focus on the positives. “I am still able to practice and participate
in a sport that I love. My teammates
push me to be better and have made cross country fun to come to practice each
day.”
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