Both the girls’ and boys’ cross country teams made it to States this season, placing third and sixth respectively and improving substantially from last year. The teams’ training method varies by team and individual athlete, but includes aerobic and anaerobic exercises, and focuses mainly on increasing mileage by adding longer distance runs into the weekly schedule.

“Usually, we start the week with a long run, then we have a hard workout Tuesday, a recovery on Wednesday, and another workout Thursday,” senior Sean McGovern said. “Then somehow we manage to get up early Friday for a morning practice.”

“Once we started mixing in workouts with the weekly training, our bodies adapted to doing more speedwork, which helped in the races,” senior Emma Weaver said.

Trusting in the coaching, training and each other is what ultimately led to the teams’ success on the course, along with the athletes individually.

“This year at States we realized how strong we can be together. Big personal records were achieved as well as a close third place finish. From last year, we dropped a lot of time from our team’s average,” Weaver said.

“From the start of the season, no one had expected the guys team to do well, especially since last year our team missed making the State meet” senior Zach Mackenzie said. “Making [states] this year was an accomplishment of it’s own. Coming in sixth place at States was not what everyone wanted, but it was a stepping stone in the right direction for our team,”

“My personal goal for the season was to give everything I had for my team. I think I was able to accomplish that by running my fastest time of 16:31 at States,” McGovern said.

The team’s results, however, can be attributed to more than just hard work and dedication.

“I think our biggest accomplishment this season has been how close the team has become,” Weaver said. “It is the most tight knit group of people that I have been a part of in my past five years of participation in this sport. It has made everyone willing to put in the work and to stay positive because we can all rely on each other to keep us going,”

The boys’ team has also created a strong bond that helps them push themselves to work harder.

“The team not only accomplished a huge step towards success, the bonding between the teammates was something  I will never forget,” Mackenzie said. “I have never really had a band of brothers until this past season. The best accomplishment this season was not making States, but making an unforgettable bond between everyone on the team,”