So, exactly what is a leader? A leader is a person who inspires others, a person who exhibits great character, someone who causes change.

Someone who shows the way.

On Tuesday afternoon at Ephrata Middle School, during the annual contesting of the Lancaster-Lebanon League Cross Country Championships, Jake Barrett exhibited all those qualities of a leader, and more. The Cedar Crest junior ran a solid sixth in the boys’ race.

But his performance also inspired his Falcon teammates to go faster, run further and achieve more. Following Barrett’s lead, Cedar Crest finished a surprising second as a team, behind only league champion Hempfield.

Barrett got out to a fantastic start, but  instead of falling back to the rest of the pack, maintained his position. By staying true to his training and teammates, Barrett ran consistently throughout the race.

Barrett finished in a time of 16:40.1, some 34 seconds off the winning time posted by Christian Groff of Hempfield.

Barrett’s performance certainly bodes well for his chances at the District Three Cross Country Championships, which will be staged at Big Springs High School next weekend. A good showing there could propel Barrett on to the state cross country meet, a goal of his since he began competitive running.

– Jeff Falk