CROSS COUNTRY IS A TOUGH SPORT.
The early hours, the heat, the distance, the mental toughness.Don’t let Flo Shirley’s sweet personality fool you, she’s a beast.
“I really got into the sport because of my sister (Fern),” she laughed. “She quit dance and needed something to do and started cross country. We are really competitive between each other. Whatever she’s doing, I have to do better.”
Entering her senior season, Flo is looking to go out with a bang.
“I’m trying to set a personal record for myself and finish in the Top 10 at districts,” she said. “The State Meet is a tough course, and the conditions were pretty bad last year, so I’m just looking for a much better time this year.”
Outside of the sport and team she loves, Shirley is much more that running.
“If I could meet anyone dead or alive?” she was asked. “Probably Abby Lee Miller of Dance Moms. I watch that show every night. I love it. Maybe Sabrina Carpenter too. I love her music."
Her sister Fern goes to the University of Tennessee, so that could be her future destination.
“I like the Vols but could also end up somewhere like Oklahoma,” she said. “I want to go to nursing school in the future after interning at a doctor’s office this summer. I fell in love with the medical field and know I want to go that way. I think running will always be in my life, however, maybe I’ll run intramurals in college.”
As her high school chapter begins the close, Shirley hopes to have left her mark at TWCA.
“I’ve been here forever, and it feels like home,” she said of her school. “It’s a family and I know I’ll come back and visit when I’m in college. I love this place.
“I hope I’ve set a good example here... always pushing when things get hard and being a good leader. Cross country is a team sport and I know our team has always pulled for each other. We put in so much work when no one is watching. That is the legacy I hope to have left here.”
Mission accomplished.