Athletes Of The Week: Carly Court

For Goldsboro’s Carly Court, running at a high level comes down to a few ingredients.

The sophomore first must put in the work outside of the cross country meets because, without training, nothing is possible in the most critical moments.

Second, she must believe in herself. Running a race is a physical challenge, but a mental one as well, and the key to overcoming that mental barrier is to trust that all the hard work will pay off.

Lastly, she knows it is not all about her individual success but about helping the Cougars thrive as a team.

“My whole family runs cross country, and my sister started running in middle school, but I couldn’t run cross country until high school,” Court said. “Running has been an awesome experience, and it’s probably my favorite part about school.”

One of the Cougars’ up-and-coming stars, Court was a steady contributor during her freshman year, and during this season, she hit her stride. Court was named to the East Central 2A all-conference team this season.

She is also a member of the swimming and soccer teams, so there are no breaks, but Court said she enjoys the challenges that come with playing three sports.

“I think cross country is my favorite, and it’s probably the one I’m best at,” Court said. “It was a little difficult finding a routine, but I’ve gotten used to it now.”

Court could not wait to join the cross country once she got into high school. She learned from some of the older runners last season, and she dreamed of earning her place as an all-conference runner one day.

And Court said being named to the all-conference team this season was the highlight of her career so far. Her personal record in the 5k is 22:33, a time she hopes to keep cutting down next season.

Even as her high school career takes off, she does not get complacent because she proved that she could compete on the biggest stages.

“Going into the season, I wanted to cut down my time, but it was a little more difficult considering COVID,” Court said.

While Court is pleased with her latest strides, she also enjoys helping others get better, and she wants every team she is on to continue to having success.