It is extremely humbling to know that we have the backing of our community.
There is perhaps no better embodiment of the community spirit found amongst us than in the Team Division. The athleticism is there, yes. But even more than that, teams must display cooperation, communication, camaraderie, and an unshakeable commitment to each other in order to overcome the challenges set before them. In the days leading up to the Granite Games, we’ll be featuring some of these exceptional groups of men and women to showcase the community spirit that defines us and this sport we love.
Give us a little background on your team.
Lucas Woodland: Our team is me, Lucas Wolfe, Corey White, Tara Woodland, Dana Reinhardt and Brae Olson. We put our team together based on the individual performances during the Qualifier.
Lucas Wolfe is all around a very good athlete; we expect big things from him in the future. Corey has the speed and excels at bodyweight WODs. Tara has an engine that just doesn’t stop and loves the long grueling WODs (this might have to do with her marathon experience, which includes running Boston twice). Dana has the strength and endurance (she has also run multiple marathons). Brae excels at the Olympic lifts and pretty much anything involving a barbell.
Everyone, with the exception of Dana, is part of the CrossFit St. Croix affiliate. We train together a lot, but we all have individual weaknesses that we work on separately. We’re definitely close. Two of my teammates are actually my family; Tara is my wife and Dana is my sister. It’s hard not to form strong bonds with the people you work out with almost daily!
Outside the box, what do all of you do for a living?
I am the head coach and owner of CrossFit St. Croix, and I’m also a computer forensic consultant. Tara is a beauty counter consultant, coach at CFSC and mother to our son, Elijah. Dana is a patient care technician. Lucas is a student, restaurant manager and a coach at CFSC. Corey is in law enforcement and a coach at CFSC. Brae is in marketing and brand development.
Coordinating everyone’s schedule is not always easy, but everyone is very dedicated to the team and we make it work. We try to get at least two workouts in a week with everyone.
Has the team got some competition experience together under their belt yet or is this their first?
Corey, Dana, Tara and I have competed together the past couple of years at the CrossFit Kilo competition in Cedar Falls, IA. Also, Tara and I competed together at the Freeze Fest Team challenge this past winter. But this is the first CrossFit competition for both Lucas and Brae.
In your experience, what’s the pressure like competing with a team?
Being on a team is both more and less stressful. It can be more stressful when you fail or don’t perform as well as you wanted, leaving you feeling like you let your teammates down. At the same time, it’s less stressful because you know your team has your back and you are working together to accomplish the goal. It’s always comforting knowing you have backup!
Has your community been there for your team as they traveled the Road to Minnesota? Will your community be ringside cheering you all on this September?
It is extremely humbling to know that we have the backing of our community. I want to thank our community (affiliate members, friends and family) for doing the Qualifier workouts with us, cheering us on during the team sectionals and continuing to support us when we compete at the Granite Games. The CrossFit St. Croix community will be showing up in force at the Granite Games and that is very exciting! Our affiliate is just over a year old and to be a part of a community that is willing to travel to St. Cloud to cheer us on is overwhelming. Community is what sets CrossFit apart and it makes me very proud to say CrossFit St. Croix has a very strong community!