By Rubin E. Grant
Emma Brooke Levering figures to eat her share of bagels and peanut butter and listen to a wide variety of music this week and next.
It’s part of the Homewood senior’s routine as she gets ready to run cross-country races.
“I get up, get ready immediately and then eat a bagel with peanut butter the morning of a race and I ask one of my teammates to braid my hair on the way to the meet,” Levering said. “Also, I like to take my speaker and play some hype music when the bus is getting close to the meet.
“I am very superstitious, so if there’s something I did before I had a really good race, then usually I’ll incorporate that into my new routine.”
This week, Levering, the defending Class 6A champion, will run in the Class 6A, Section 4 qualifying meet Thursday at Hewitt-Trussville. On Nov. 9 in Moulton, she will try to win her second consecutive individual state crown.
Last year, the 5-foot-2 Levering won with a time of 17:46.27, breaking the tape more than 8 seconds faster than any other class winner. She was selected as the 2023-24 Gatorade Alabama Girls Cross Country Player of the Year.
Another state title would be extra sweet for Levering.
“My mindset coming into the season was to focus on myself and challenge myself to be the best I can be,” she said. “My coaches and I have talked a lot about controlling what you can control, so that has been a big thing I’ve worked on this season.
“Winning again would mean everything. Cross country is my favorite season, so to me the win at state is the most special. Also, my teammates and I are super close, and so having that close team culture and a team that is constantly developing each week is super encouraging going into state.
“It would be awesome to win an individual title, but I would love to get a team title with some of my best friends, too.”
Levering can’t believe her high school career is almost over. She especially has enjoyed being a part of Homewood’s cross-country team.
“It’s crazy that this is my final high school season,” Levering said. “I’m trying to approach it by being super excited with my teammates, but there is definitely a bit of sadness. Cross country is my favorite season and honestly the season that made me fall in love with racing, so moving on to a new chapter of college cross country is really going to be a change. But I’m so glad we have a really close team, and all the underclassmen are really excited to participate in end-of-season activities and traditions, so that’s really awesome.”
Levering plans to run in college. She has taken official visits to Syracuse, Penn State, Ole Miss, Furman and Texas. She plans to announce her decision in the next few days.
Levering is a scholar-athlete. She has a 4.29 weighted GPA and scored a 33 on the ACT.
She plans to study biomedical engineering in college and possibly minor in Spanish. She also has designs on running beyond college.
“After college, I would love to go into professional running if I am able to, but at some point I would like to go into research and development of medical products,” Levering said. “I have always been super interested in health, but I’m pretty sure I don’t want to be a doctor, so I think research and development is great career path to go into since it’s growing rapidly and there is lots of demand for it.”
Sort of like Levering’s demand for bagels, peanut butter and music on a race day.
