The girls cross country team competed at the 3AA State Race on Saturday, Nov. 2. This was following a second-place performance at 3AA Sections. As Coach Maggie Bowman put it, “I don’t think either team ran as well as they would have liked to and I think that’s a part of sport sometimes. But that doesn’t mean that I’m any less proud.” Senior Zoe Goodman ‘25 reflected on the season saying, “I’m proud of the team. I feel like we’re really close this year and it’s just been fun to all be together.” For Ainsley Pflaum ‘25, a senior captain, this was her last race. Looking towards the future, when she is not there, she says “I’m honestly like amazed by where the freshmen are right now. I think next year we can definitely make it to state again. I think we can place that state given just how good the freshman are… I’m so excited for where it’s gonna go.”
The boys cross country team also finished their season on Saturday, Nov. 2 at the 3AA State Meet. Will Schwemm ‘27 stated after finishing in a time of 16:20 in the 5k, “I gave it my all. That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.” Shamore Brinda ‘27 continued in the same vein, saying “It was a very hard course. A lot of people had a hard time racing it.” Senior captain, Romare Onishi ’25 thought “Realistically today wasn’t a very good day for a lot of people. We still have a lot of potential in our team, especially with the sophomores and freshmen. I look forward to seeing them grow.” Despite runners feeling as if it was a slightly disappointing finish to the season, Assistant Coach Patrick Barry believes, “It’s just remarkable to look back at the arc of their season and for some of our older runners, the arc of their high school career, and you can’t look back and think of it as anything but a smashing success.”
On the note of both teams, Barry stated, “I’m just really proud of both squads. And that is separate from any results. Times mean nothing. This team is all heart and [there was] just a lot of fight there. They won before they even toed the line.” Looking forward to next year, Barry said, “My hope is that this leaves us all with a hunger, a desire to do it again and again and again and keep stacking those successes.” Bowman added stating, “Success breeds confidence. So we had teams… who had a tremendous amount of success this year, and so they’re gonna come into next season’s confident that they can do it again. And if I have teams of athletes who have experience at the top level and are confident, ooh man, that’s a recipe for a win right there.”
