By: Matt Florjancic '07
BEREA, Ohio – There are ways to build bonds in the offseason, and then, there is the way several members of the Baldwin Wallace University women's soccer team worked to foster togetherness and strengthen the culture heading into the 2024 season.
As a way to challenge themselves physically and mentally during the offseason, senior Ella Barth (Highland/Mayfield), and juniors Sydni Mudge (Birch Run, Mich.) and Karli Barringer (Blacklick/Columbus Bishop Hartley)ran the 2024 Cleveland Half Marathon. The three Yellow Jackets each ran the 13.1-mile course in just under two hours, with Barringer posting the best time.
"I love to run, especially at my own pace, but I was ready to try and push myself to do something I have never done before," Barringer said. "I thrive off of a challenge, and I had never really run more than six miles at a time. It was a great experience running it with two of my teammates, especially when training for it since we could go on our long weekend runs together to keep each other occupied during two-hour runs."
Mudge added, "It was a good team bonding experience. It gave us all a goal outside of soccer and soccer practice to focus on. It's hard to stay motivated sometimes in the offseason, so setting a goal that was closer than August for soccer kept us going."
Barringer and Mudge decided to compete in the half marathon together, while the path to the event was different for Barth.
Initially, Barth "didn't know" Barringer and Mudge were training for the half marathon "until halfway through the spring." That was because Barth preferred to do her training during the midday/evening hours. Conversely, Barringer and Mudge liked morning training.
Although the training times were different, Barth admitted the three Yellow Jackets "shared our routine" during the weeks leading up to the half marathon.
"We had the same goal of wanting to go and complete it," Barth said.
"My mom, ever since I was younger, was a big runner, and so, she's always inspired me to want to do something longer than a 5K. I was like, 'Why not?' I knew that the Cleveland half was at a perfect timing for right when school ended, so I just kind of signed myself up in January fully intending to do it by myself."
Much like Barth, Mudge's mother, Jenni, is an experienced runner.
As a former cross-country coach, Jenni Mudge wrote up the plans, which allowed her daughter and Barringer to have very regimented preparatory workouts when they began training together in early December.
"I did pretty well," Mudge said of the end result. "I met my goal that I originally had set for myself in December.
Barringer added, "My goal was originally to just complete the race without stopping to walk or take a break. Eventually, I kind of switched my mindset to finishing the race under two hours, which I thankfully did, finishing around 1 hour and 53 minutes, marking me around an 8:30 pace.
"I felt amazing on race day and was making much better time than I was hitting during training, but the atmosphere and energy in the air on race day is a game changer."
Barth ran the 13.1 miles in one hour, 57 minutes. As she crossed the finish line, Barringer was there to greet her after finishing a few minutes earlier.
"I saw right at the end there, she waited for me," Barth recalled. "I was like, 'Oh, you had a good day, huh?' She was like, 'Actually, I felt really good.' It's like, 'Okay, good for you.' It's nice to have a little healthy competition."
All-in-all though, despite losing the bragging rights to Barringer, Barth enjoyed the experience and would not rule out doing a similar event in the future.
"It went as well as it could have gone," Barth said. "My whole plan was initially just to finish it, and then, of course, with my competitiveness, I wanted to set an extra goal for myself of doing it under two hours. That was no matter how the race went, as long as I was able to hit that goal, that was most important to me. It was very hilly, but it was beautiful. I got to see all of Cleveland, so yeah, it went well.
"I definitely enjoy, for some reason, the real tough things. It's not even for anybody else. I just like to know that I've accomplished something like that and not many people can. I don't know. I just find it to be very fulfilling to be doing something like that. I don't know about a full, but finishing the half, I don't know how anyone finished the full. It's crazy."
After the Cleveland Half Marathon, Barth turned her focus back to academics, as she spent five weeks in Costa Rica on a study abroad trip. Barth went on a service-learning trip, and the Spanish double major worked in healthcare facilities in the capital city of San Jose.
However, when Barth returns to Baldwin Wallace in early August, she will be looking to get the Yellow Jackets ready for a pursuit of an Ohio Athletic Conference Championship. The Yellow Jackets came up two penalty kicks short of making it to the OAC Tournament Championship Game.
"Oh, I'm so ready," Barth said. "It's really nice to have the ability to have a second senior season because after high school, it's all sad and you're leaving. To have the ability to be a leader and have a fantastic group of girls, I'm very, very excited for this season. I think we have a lot to prove, and we definitely have the talent and the determination to make that happen, so I'm very excited.
"I feel fantastic about the group of girls that we have, and we also have a lot of new girls coming in, so I'm sure they have a lot to offer us. As of now, I feel I have full trust in them, and I know that we are all on the same page, which may not be the truth for past seasons, but I think we all want the same thing, and we will do anything to make that happen."
Like Barth, Mudge and Barringer are motivated to get back to the soccer field.
They will continue working through BW's offseason program and believe in a solid core group of players that returns for the 2024 season.
"I am extremely excited," Mudge said. "We set a high standard this spring with our returners and have a strong base set for the incoming players to come into. I'm excited to see how far we make it in the tournament."
Barringer added, "I am so excited for this season to start up again. We have a great group of girls returning and a big class coming in, so we have a lot to work with and to find our rhythm and what works best for us!"
