Abby Faith Cheeseman Takes Necessary Strides Towards States

Oct 31, 2022

On Friday, Abby Faith Cheeseman will toe the line at the Sanders Ferry Parkway course for the TSSAA State Cross Country Championships for the third time in her career.

This meet is all too familiar for her, as she won her first state title back in 2020 as an eighth-grader.

But even though the course may not have changed, Cheeseman's start to her sophomore season has looked a bit different.

Early on, The Webb School (TN) runner faced an injury that left her season questionable, which forced her to take a different approach to her training.

The defending champion found herself in the swimming pool three times a week and running less mileage than a year prior. Along with training, her mindset focused on daily tasks in order to accomplish her goal of getting back onto cross country courses.

"I'm making sure that I accomplish the task for each day and not try to hammer it every day," Cheeseman said. "[It] has been very important to keep the easy days easy [and I'm] making sure that I carry the intended purpose for the workout that day."

Even though she was a late bloomer this season, her approach toward fall training seemed to be a key: She ultimately debuted with a 17:19 5K the first week of October.

Since then, Cheeseman has remained healthy over the last three races and set a new lifetime best of 17:04.50 at the Frank Horton Night Classic. In that race she led her team to the TSSAA Divison 2A Middle Region Championships with 34 points.

Since her injury, she said, every racing opportunity has built her confidence moving forward.

"I'm pretty confident knowing what God has allowed me to do this season so far, especially coming back from injury and being unsure [of what my season would look like]," she said.

Despite having a minor setback with her injury, Cheeseman says she still faces the added pressures that comes along with competing for an individual and team state title.

"There's a little pressure involved but knowing ultimately I can only do my best, I just want to put myself out there to do that and try not to let the pressure get to me too much," Cheeseman said.

This week, Cheeseman will be tested among the state's best. She persevered thus far.

As she laces up her spikes for the third time at these championships, Tennessee will witness a stronger Cheeseman on the line.

After the state championships, Cheeseman's post-season goal is to qualify for the Champs Sports National Championship at Balboa Park in December. Last year, Cheeseman finished fourth at the South Regional meet and finished 31st overall at the Eastbay Cross Country Championships.