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By Jay Spivey

For the Clemmons Courier

CLEMMONS — Running can be a freeing and cathartic experience.  

For senior Chloe Siebert of the West Forsyth girls cross-country team, it’s just that and more.  

Not only is she a teenager, who goes to school and participates on a school athletic team, she is the eldest of seven siblings.  

“I’ve got a lot of siblings,” Siebert said. “Sometimes, I’ve got to take care of them.” 

According to Siebert, her father Jeff owns his own business, so her mother Vanessa helps him with that.  

“They’re around most of the time, but sometimes they just need some help,” she said.  

And there is a wide range of ages of the seven siblings – Chloe, who just turned 18 this past Tuesday, sister Scarlett, 16, brother Hudson, 14, Savannah, 12, sister Adaline, 6, brother Elliott, 3, and brother Hudson, nine months.  

“We thought we were done with four kids,” Chloe said. “We have a gap and then it’s us four. My parents decided that they wanted more kids, took a break and then and we’ve got these younger three.” 

The family, including the eldest five children, moved to Lewisville in 2020 from Littleton, Colorado. 

“There wasn’t really a specific reason,” Chloe said. “But we really liked North Carolina. Like my parents love North Carolina, and we just kind of needed a change of scenery.” 

Since her parents are often busy with work on a given day, oftentimes, Siebert is more of a second mother, as well as the big sister. 

“Yeah, a little bit,” Chloe said of hierarchy within her family. “I just kind of like teach them, I guess.” 

As far as what the siblings do together, it varies.  

“The younger three, I usually for walks with them,” Chloe said. “…The other, like us oldest four, like to play pickleball.” 

That brings us to Chloe Siebert running. She didn’t start running until her sophomore year at West Forsyth. Part of the dilemma for her was the move to North Carolina occurred during COVID-19, so her classes at Meadowlark Middle School in eighth grade were online. 

“It was very hard getting to know people,” she said. “But it was better once I started running sophomore year … because I had like a set group pf like friends. It was a good atmosphere.” 

Now, as the NCHSAA Class 4-A state championship looms on Saturday morning at Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville, she is one of the best runners on the girls team. 

“It’s definitely like a release, and it’s also just like peaceful, most times” she said. “Sometimes, it’s not peaceful because we’ll have hard runs here and there. But for the most part, it’s peaceful.” 

However, in the early days of running it wasn’t so easy. Siebert decided to go out for the cross-country team after meeting with Coach Nathan Newsome of Titans in the spring of her freshman year.  

“She was so quiet and so kind of skittish and you know, you can tell a lot from first impressions, but my first impression of Chloe of couldn’t have been more off,” Newsome said. “I guess she was so nervous about the situation. Yeah, I just thought, well, ‘I don’t know if she’s going to do it or not.’” 

Part of the reason Siebert went out for cross-country is that she didn’t think she’d be cut. 

“As long as they work hard, you know, it’s a situation where, yeah, we take pretty much everybody that comes and does what we ask of them,” Newsome said. “I have a hard time remembering back that far. What I remember is, you know, you get asked by a lot of kids about if they show interest in a sport and you don’t know how interested they are. You know, some ask a lot, then you never see and you never hear from them again.  

“So, I just kind of gave her, you know, kind of the standard, you know, ‘This is what it’s about. This is what we do. If it sounds like something you’d like to do, you know, I’d advise you to pursue it.’ Then the ball is in her court so to speak, I guess.” 

That meeting proved to be very fruitful for Siebert on several fronts. 

“The team was very friendly. They were very opening, which is why I was encouraged to keep coming back to practice,” Siebert said. “It’s so nice being part of a team. It’s very encouraging, and like, if you’re having a bad day they’ll come and help you.” 

When Siebert first started running her sophomore year for the Titans it all starting coming together for her. She ran the Norman Trzaskoma Invitational, which is a 2-mile race instead of a 5K, and it’s the city-county meet. Siebert ran 14.31.1 in that meet.  

On Sept. 9, 2022, she ran in Friday Night Lights at Ivey M. Redmon and finished 24.23.4, according to Athletic.net, but just eight days later at the adidas XC Challenge in Cary she finished 23.15.3. At the Central Piedmont 4-A championship on Oct. 19, 2022, which is also at Ivey M. Redmon, she finished 23:52.6. 

After acclimating to the sport of cross-country Siebert came back last fall as a junior and improved dramatically. She ran Friday Night Lights, according to Athletic.net, at 23.13.2, and she ran the adidas XC Challenge at 22:54. 3. 

“I guess I improved a lot,” she said. “Junior year, I definitely did a lot better. I think because I was like starting out so new I was able to cut so much time off. But, yeah, I definitely did better my junior year.” 

Siebert also ran in last year’s NCHSAA Class 4-A state championship Ivey M. Redmon and finished 23:08.2. 

“She has far exceeded initial expectations,” Newsome said. “I think once she started showing some fitness and was not dealing with injuries so much, she started saying, ‘Oh, OK.’ I think last year in outdoor track I think she ran the 2-mile at West and broke 13 minutes.  

“And I just remember kind of getting goosebumps. I thought, ‘Oh, my.’ That was a big breakthrough and you could tell that she was proud of herself. And from a coach’s standpoint I think that was the first time when I went, ‘OK.’ She’s probably going to end up being a big contributor for that top group.” 

Just like Newsome described, Siebert has suffered from a common ailment with runners, but she also enjoys playing the piano and keyboard. 

“Sundays, I do cross-training – swim instead – because I’ve suffered from shin splints a lot, so cross-training has really helped like keep those away,” Siebert said. “I’ve definitely felt an improvement in my lung capacity.” 

However, not much fazes her.  

“When I say this, I’m not embellishing, I’ve never heard her complain about anything,” Newsome said. “Not one time. She said like, ‘My shins hurt, Coach or something.’ And even then, she’ll say, ‘Hey, Coach, is it OK if I cross-train. I don’t think I’m able to come to practice.’ 

“I’ve just learned that if she says that it means her shins are bugging her.” 

Although she’s dealt with shin splints throughout her senior season, Siebert has performed quite well. According to Athletic.net, she ran 13.44.5 at the Norman Trzaskoma Invitational, which again is 2 miles. She also ran 21.31.8 on Sept. 6 at Friday Night Lights, which was a personal record (PR) for her. On Oct. 5 at the Wendy’s Invitational at McAlpine Park in Charlotte she ran 22:15.9. 

“It is very encouraging,” Siebert said. “I think this year has been very successful for me. And I don’t know if it’s because I started incorporating cross-training so my legs are like more refreshed. But I definitely have done a lot better than the past two years.” 

According to Siebert, she ran the Central Piedmont 4-A meet, which was two weeks ago at Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex, at 21:22. This past Saturday at the NCHSAA Class 4-A Regional, also at Ivey M. Redmon, she ran 21:02, which was according to her, a 20-second PR. 

“Chloe was awesome today,” Newsome said after she ran this past Saturday. 

Siebert said she is not going to run indoor track this winter, and running outdoor in the spring is still a question mark.  So, Saturday’s state championship will be her last as a high-school cross-country runner. 

“It definitely has (helped my self-esteem,” she said. “I guess it’s given me more confidence. I can do more than I thought I could do. Like sophomore year, I never would’ve thought that I’d be running as good as I am right now.” 

Siebert is having to juggle some family issues, much like Destiny Griffin did when she played girls basketball and competed in track-and-field at West Forsyth before graduating from there in 2019. Griffin, who is one of 10 children and was a like a second mother to her siblings, won the NCHSAA Class 4-A indoor shot put championship at JDL Fast Track, as well as helped the girls basketball team win the NCHSAA Class 4-A state championship at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. 

“(Siebert) was more transparent with us whereas Destiny, you know, she has basketball and she had other things,” Newsome said. “…So, I don’t think it’s an easy task. 

Much like just about everything else in her life Siebert, who has a 4.5 GPA, would like to go to UNC Greensboro, so she can stay home, possibly commute to school, and help the family. She wants to major in something related to math. So, everything has made her grow up quickly. 

“Honestly, I wouldn’t change (my life) because I like having a big family because it’s just great fun,” Siebert said. “If you’re mad at someone, and you don’t want to be with them, you just go be with someone else until you cool off.”