Lutheran North News
Athletic Spotlight: Meagan Purcell, N'12
Meagan Schmidt Purcell, N'12, walked into her freshman cross country season with no expectations. What she found surprised her.
"I was actually a decent runner," she recalls. "Not only that, but the cross country team members became some of my closest friends at North." She went on to run both cross country and track throughout her time at Lutheran North, eventually serving as captain of the cross country team her senior year, a role that shaped the leader she would become both as a nurse and as a coach.
Today, Meagan serves as head cross country coach at Lutheran North, and the same community that
drew her in as a freshman is what keeps bringing her back. "It sounds cliché, but I've been pulled back to North because it is like a family," she says. "The teachers care immensely about the students and each other, which makes North an incredible place to be a part of."
Her coaching philosophy is rooted in grace, hard work, and individual growth. "I go into each season knowing that each athlete will define success differently," she explains. "But no matter what their end goal is, I expect them to work their hardest. As long as they have done that, I am proud of the work, no matter the outcome." That philosophy is grounded in something deeper. "I believe that all of my athletes are on the team for a reason," she says. "And so I coach them all with love and grace, and with the expectation that they will work hard with the gifts God gave them to do their very best."
For Meagan, that is what Lutheran North has always been about—showing up, working hard, and leaving better than you arrived.
Providing excellent co-ed, Christian education for grades 6-12 in Saint Louis, Missouri.
