CHICAGO — For most high school athletes, the goal is to be good enough to make varsity.

But to make varsity with your twin? Not many things better than that.

That’s the case for twins Mati and Misia Szelazek, freshmen cross country runners at Leyden this fall.

“It’s fun having him there,’’ said Misia. “He’s always supportive of me in my events. He’s competitive, but that’s what keeps me going.’’

For some freshmen, the pressure of making varsity in the first year can be too much to bear and might be a struggle to handle it. It was different for the Szelazeks, however. Misia was on the girls varsity team from the first day of the season, while Mati was elevated to the boys varsity for the first home meet, against Downers South on Sept. 10.

“The coaches put me in the meet because another runner was absent and I have been running on varsity since then,’’ said Mati. “I did feel pressure because I was just thrown in there.’’

Both seem to put pressure on themselves, though. Whether it be Mati feeling he let his team down because his time, as the sixth runner, couldn’t break the tie with Elmwood Park and give the Lions a win. Or it’s Misia feeling the expectations of having to succeed as the only freshman on the roster from the start of the season.

It wasn’t always that way though. Both Szelazeks started running cross country in fifth grade. At first they didn’t enjoy much success, which Misia admits now led to some tears. But it didn’t keep them from becoming their best.

“We always loved running and we were good at most other sports, so we knew if we worked at it, we could make it this far,” Misia said. “Going to the Leyden camps since fifth grade helped too. The people knew us here, we knew the coaches already, so it wasn’t as hard of a transition.’’

While Mati agrees with his sister, he’s also found another thing that has helped ease the transition: his teammates.

“The older members are more calm and composed so I don’t feel rushed,” he said. “They’re there to cheer you on. ‘Good job’ is the best advice you can get from anybody.’’

The Szelazeks and the rest of the Eagles will run at the Niles West sectional on Saturday.

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