(Boarder) crossing the finish line
Cold wind whips across her face as she hears her board cut against the snow. She leans from her heels to her toes, trying to cut through the course and gain momentum before she reaches the finish line.
The cold winter’s night seems to be some people’s escape and happy place. One individual who most definitely enjoys the cold is boardercross state champion and Mercy boardercross captain, senior Sam Fee. Fee started the Mercy boardercross team this year but has had a passion for the sport for a majority of her life. Having started snowboarding at the age of 8 and beginning to race boardercross at the age of 11, she is a seasoned veteran at this point.
“My brother did boardercross for St. Mary’s so when I came into Mercy I immediately knew I wanted to start a team here,” she said. “Literally before the first day of freshman year I already typed out a boardercross proposal for the athletic directors.”
Granted, the road to establishing a team at Mercy has not been easy. After years of hard work, the team was just made official this year.
“[The proposal included] pointing out which division we’d be in, what teams we’d race, the supplies we needed, how much money it would cost, a coach, who was interested, and so much more,” said Fee.
Even after the proposal was approved, Fee’s work was far from over.
“I had to design spirit wear for the team (Mercy and CC Spirit wear), design jerseys, recruit girls, hold meetings, communicate with parents, find out times and organize for conditioning, and run parts of conditioning,” said Fee. “It was a lot, especially because I had to manage basically two teams, but it all was for good because we had an amazing season.”
Fee won the first boardercross state championship for Mercy during the team’s first year in her individual event. Having competed in states two previous years, this was Fee’s first state championship gold medal win. Her passion for the sport and her team shows how much she deserves the win.
“Winning this state championship and crossing that finish line first was probably the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me in my life so far,” said Fee.
With this being her first and final year on Mercy’s team, she is hopeful for the future of the team.
“The other girls on the team have the greatest motivation and determination in them to thrive their next season, and I can’t wait to see how things work out,” said Fee.