Written by Cheyanne Mumphrey

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The NAU women's cross country team is made up of 17 individual talents and personalities from as far as Australia and as close as Sedona, Ariz. Each runner is unique in their own way, which makes for a fun group of girls to be around.

As a coach as invested in her athletes as Leah Rosenfeld is, it has to be exciting getting to know each and every runner. Everyday she learns a little bit more as she holds conversations and shares musical interests.

Rosenfeld strives to develop a relationship with her athletes that impacts more than their performance on the course, but also their development as young adults in society.

On every team there are a range of personalities from the quiet athlete to the outgoing leaders and this lumberjack team is no different.

You can't quite tell what each runner is like while they are running, but they definitely have their own personalities.

"I always think about what my next move will be while I'm running a race," freshman Caitlin Heldt said. "And I'm not going to lie, I might be singing a rap song in my head to take away from any pain I'm feeling."

Every runner has something quirky about them and rapping while running is one of those things.

Competition is something every runner values and no matter how shy or timid they may be, they take their races seriously.

"A race is honestly a gift and a blessing," freshman Miranda Myers affirmed, but even she has fun talking and singing with teammates.

If given the chance to talk with any of these wonderful athletes, you wouldn't be surprised to find similarities in how competitive they are — you have to be as a Division I athlete.