Whitehall’s Mackenzie Laub hasn’t been bothered by the COVID-19 situation that has altered the state of cross country and other fall sports.

Whether it is cross country or club softball, she just plans to keep on running.

“I didn’t have softball this spring, so I started running as early as I could,” she said. “I have been doing it for the past couple of months and I feel pretty good. I have been prepping for the season.

“I hope we do have a season because all of us on the team have been working extremely hard, and the coaches have been very supportive. We have been approved by the PIAA, and it’s going to be interesting to see what happens.”

Entering her junior year, Laub will be one of the more experienced runners for the Zephyrs this fall.

She set a personal record of 22.18 last season and she again would like to be in the same range.

“I was to absolutely lower my times and be in the low 22s,” she stated. “I am not built like a runner at all, but I know that can come toward the middle of the season. I had a good year last year, and I know I can get better

“I will never forget making leagues and districts as a freshman and sophomore. During my freshman year, we had a very competitive girls’ team, and for me to get that far was just crazy.”

Head coach Mike Lelko expects Laub to crack into the next minute.

“She is one of the hardest workers on the team,” he said. “Mackenzie successfully runs cross country and plays club softball during the same season.

“I like to say that she would run through a brick wall if I asked her to do it. She is a true team leader.”

Laub has been able to play through a busy club softball summer and fall with the Lehigh Valley Patriot Flames U18 under head coach Joe Gmitter, a former Catasauqua and Muhlenberg College football standout.

Like her running, Laub wasn’t apprehensive about the environment.

“My travel coach told me that we were going to play a full schedule, and that was awesome,” said Laub. “It was great having the chance to play.

“I wore a mask and I wasn’t thinking about COVID at all. I just went out and played and tried to do the best I could.”

Laub began running in seventh grade on a chance and it soon developed into one of her mainstays.

“I figured I would try it and see how it would go,” she said. “I really enjoyed it. I just wanted to keep running and running. It also kept me in shape for softball. It definitely made me a better softball player because I felt I was ahead of some of the other girls when it came to conditioning. (Cross Country) also helped me when I used to play basketball.”

Laub credits the constant support of her parents, Dennis and Robin, throughout her career.

“My parents have been the biggest influence on me with athletics,” she stressed. “They are both Whitehall graduates and were good athletes. They always have pushed me to succeed and do the best I can.”

Laub, who is active with the school’s Student Council, Serve Club, and FCA, plans to pursue a career in biochemistry and pursue a college career in the state.

“I took biology my freshman year and chemistry my sophomore year,” said Laub. “That really got me interested in the field.

“I would like to do a lot of work in research.”

In the meantime, she’ll be researching ways to better her times and help her team.

“I believe we can have a really good team this year,” she said. “We have a lot of boys and we should be in the top-10 in the league.

“I just have to keep working hard to do my part.”