After the last runner crossed the line and the team scores had been tallied at the 2016 FHSAA Girls 3A Cross Country State Finals, South Fork High School finished in 22nd position out of 24 scoring teams.
The following year South Fork rocketed up the team scoring table, finishing 10th, with one of the tighter one-through-five spreads in the field.
No matter the established goal entering the season, a 12-position improvement over the previous year is something to be incredibly proud of. Of the scoring Bulldogs at 2017's Florida 3A state meet, four had been scorers the previous year, each finishing higher up in the field than they had in 2016 -- a testament to the dedication shared by all members of the team.
This wasn't a star-laden squad riding to a high team finish thanks to a single low stick. It was a team in the truest sense, comprised of hard-working high school athletes, who, aside from one runner, would not pursue the sport at the collegiate level. The team's fourth finisher at both the 2016 and 2017 state meets was a runner named Sydney Towle.
The tributes that have rolled in from those that admired her bravery and outlook speak to the impact Towle had on the millions of
followers she garnered over the course of an almost unfathomably
daunting experience. She was effervescent and chipper, all while never
downplaying the seriousness of what she faced -- the sort of light in a
dark place people flock to in moments of personal crisis. But Towle being a beacon of hope wasn't something she suddenly grew into when confronted with a devastating diagnosis.
"You could count on her to bring the energy and pick you up when you needed someone to get you through the tough miles," says Towle's South Fork teammate Meghan Mickiewicz. "There's that Maya Angelou quote -- 'People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel' -- and I think Sydney made everyone feel a part of the team and that they always had a friend in her."
Fellow South Fork runner Amy Kirkland remembers Towle similarly: "She was everyone's biggest cheerleader."
Being a part of a high school cross country team -- particularly one as tight knit as the one Towle was a part of at South Fork -- is about more than just running. And if you're more than several years removed from your own final high school race, chances are, the memories you cherish most from that formative four-year ride didn't all take place on the course.
"Syd was always so positive and had the biggest smile on her face even when running in 100 degree weather in Florida," says Kirkland. "She was the first to start singing or to play funny games on the bus. I'll never forget her smiling face when we were doing ice baths or running in the mud."
But Towle wasn't solely a morale booster.
"Sydney was always a fighter who believed in herself and her teammates," remembers Bonnie Fleming, South Fork's head cross country coach. "Watching her earn a varsity spot, finish 4th on our team to win the 2017 Region Championship, running her PR in her last meet as a senior at the State Championship, running her first half marathon -- that and the goofy videos of overnight hotel trips -- those are things that bring a smile to my face."
An athlete like Towle -- a beloved teammate who worked hard and chipped away at her times -- is hard for a coach not to love. Now imagine the joy that journey must have brought to her mom, Elizabeth Morrow, who also served as a volunteer with the South Fork cross country team.
"I remember when Sydney started running as a freshman at South Fork, she thought she was so slow, and would never find her stride," says Morrow. "But as with everything else she did, she put her head down and just kept swimming!"
And she did eventually find that stride. From her freshman to senior seasons, Towle cut nearly four minutes from her 5K personal best, saving her fastest race for her final high school meet at the 2018 state championships. Her progression was the kind that resonates with runners at every level -- putting in the work, getting better year after year and ultimately leaving the sport faster than you entered it.
Towle's legacy will live on in countless ways. In the awareness she raised for a horrible disease. In the moments of joy she brought to millions. In the more direct impact she had on the lives of those close to her. And though she was so much more than just a runner, running remained a part of her, and the imprint she left on the world.
"Running in Florida was so special to her because she loved being outside and seeing the trees and feeling the sun on her face," explains Morrow.
Fittingly, there will be a tree dedication on the South Fork High School cross country course on October 3rd in Towle's memory. And for those who built the sort of lifelong memories alongside Towle that can only come from being cross country teammates, there's one more way to celebrate Sydney Towle's life.
"Every time I run now," says Kirkland, "it's for her."
