After a tough season with ups and downs, the cross country team recently faced its two toughest challenges of the season thus far. The first of these was the MPSSAA 4A West Regional Championships on Thursday, Oct. 30, where the team battled a tough 5k course.
To qualify for states, teams had to place in the top six, which is exactly what the girls’ team did. Finishing fifth overall with a score of 140, the team’s top five runners were scattered in and around the top 30, with senior Audrey Blake being the Cats’ highest-placing runner in 22nd.
“I think we did well as a team,” Blake said. “We were good at staying together and we used each other as motivation to help us pass people and get through the race. This meet was a good wrap-up near the end of the season and shows all the hard work that we’ve been putting in all season.”
On the boys’ side, senior Grant Levens qualified for states individually, as he finished 11th. However, with several key runners out injured, the team was unable to make up the ground in the rest of their spread, finishing eighth overall.
“It’s just one meet, which I don’t think really judges much of your actual ability to run fast,” Levens said. “I think I got out hard, but I lost focus in the second mile and people started gapping me, which was probably my worst weakness. I definitely could have improved at maintaining my composure during the race and getting up the hills better. The hills are the most important part and where you can lose a lot of ground.”
Finally, at the MPSSAA State Championships on Saturday, Nov. 8, Levens, who ran alone, finished 39th. Meanwhile, the girls’ team finished tenth overall out of 18 teams, with their best runner being sophomore Natalie McCarty, who finished 37th.
“It wasn’t our best effort,” head coach Tom Martin said. “We’ve had some incredible efforts before this, but sometimes you don’t do your best and that’s just the way it goes, unfortunately. I’m sure some of my runners feel like they might not have run their best race, which is hard for me because I want them to have success. There are so many things we could have done better, but we try to tell runners to focus on the positives of their race and not the negatives.”
Martin’s 30-year career will conclude after this season, as he is stepping down from coaching and will be replaced by current assistant coach Stephen Hays. In doing so, Martin will leave behind a legacy of 15 state championships, dozens of collegiate runners produced and having fostered a team culture like no other.
“Overall, these kids have had a great season and worked really hard, and it’s been something I’ll remember,” Martin said. “Coaching has been awesome, but I’m gonna be 70 years old next year and I don’t have the energy that I once had to give these kids, and they deserve better.”
