The boys’ and girls’ cross country teams have started their seasons with mixed results. The team has competed in six races so far, as both teams are working to qualify for the state championship.
The boys’ team exemplify this hard work, as they have had better performances in more recent meets such as the Bull Run Invitational, where the team finished fourth out of 20 teams with senior Grant Levens placing 11th overall. However, they have also had performances that haven’t gone their way scattered throughout, with a loss against Poolesville and a 16th place finish out of 30 teams at the Barnhart Invitational. Nonetheless, they will look to build and improve upon what they have already achieved.
“I think our season is going really well and we have a great spread,” senior John Snow said. “A lot of dudes are moving up in terms of placement and a lot of team culture is being fostered. There’s a lot more cohesiveness and the team is having a lot more fun, which is contributing to people trying harder and eventually performing better in races.”
Likewise, the girls’ team have also had varied results. The team has shown real promise with fourth and sixth place finishes at the MD Twilight Showcase and Barnhart invitational, respectively. Their only real slip-ups have come in a loss against Northwest and an 11th place finish at the Bull Run Invitational.
“I think we do a good job of competing as a team,” assistant coach Stephen Hays said. “Many people think of cross country as an individual sport, but it’s very much a team sport. I think we’ve come together well as a team and we’re working hard to improve as a team.”
Off the field, both teams have been working at practices both on lowering their times and on bonding with their teammates. These mutually beneficial relationships with teammates are crucial to pushing the whole team to succeed and improve.
“We need to stay motivated and consistent with our workouts,” senior Annie Linkie said. “Sometimes it’s hard to get excited to run because of how hard the course is or how early the meet is. At practice, even when we’re given a tough workout, we try to stay positive and talk to each other so we don’t get too tired.”
The team will look to patch over these inconsistencies and keep improving. However, the improvement will have to happen quickly, as they only have two more meets left before counties on Saturday, Oct. 18.
“We’re improving each time we go out,” Hays said. “We’ve got a long way to go, but we’re going to keep working hard and hopefully we’ll be ready to run hard at the County Championship.”
The Cats will look to make some noise in the regionals on Thursday, Oct. 20, and possibly even states, which will take place on Saturday, Nov. 8.
“We just need to continue to get faster,” Hays said. “When we get to regionals, we need to be able to compete hard and be ready. Every practice is a time to get ready for [the] postseason.”
