Athlete of the week: Sydney Wendt

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — In just the last nine days, Lincoln High’s Sydney Wendt has soared high.

On Friday Oct. 3, Sydney won the Lincoln Public Schools City Championship Cross Country meet, in a time of 19:32. She became the first Lincoln High student to win the city title since 1991. She also tied her personal best record.

“I love my school, I love my team”, Wendt said. “It just feels really great to be able to represent them well.”

Five days later, Wendt recached new heights. She won the Heartland Conference meet in Kearney, finishing with a new personal best, 19:11.

“I put my eyes up on the lead group, and started slowly working my way back up. I ended up having enough time to pass them right at the end,” said Wendt. “It was a really great race. It was super exciting.”

Sydney’s cross country career has been shorter than most. She never started running until her freshman year, four seasons ago. But, adds that her friends and family pushed her to compete.

“I didn’t run at all until freshman year. I really didn’t want to,” Wendt said. “I always felt really supported by the team. When I realized I could have some potential, I kept coming back and working at it.”

She’s also improved her time by five whole minutes from when she first began. Lincoln High’s Cross Country Head Coach Brad Rettig said she’s become a lead by example for the Links.

“She’s just a hardworking individual willing to put in the miles, and really understands it’s a process,” Rettig said. “She’s had setbacks and works through those, stays confident in herself and that’s led her to have the season she’s had.

Lincoln High will compete in districts Oct 15 at Pioneers Park.