Several of our fall sports are on their way to District, Regional, or State Championships. The Cross Country team is no exception For the first time since 2012, both the Boys and Girls Cross Country team both made it out of our conference. The Girls team qualified for the state meet, along with two members of the Boys team, and are headed to the state meet this Friday.

Sophomore Shea Brady said that conditioning during the summer is what helped the Girls.

“We did less meets on Saturdays and more meets during the week on Wednesdays so we had more time to build muscle. And now, we’re all fit, and could do better during the postseason.”, Brady said.

Sophomore Charlie Groscup contributed the success to team camaraderie.

“We just try to stick together and not blame any one person, we win as a team, and we lose as a team. And we just push each other to do better.”, Groscup said.

Head Cross Country Coach Dolph Null said that the runners were highly motivated, which helped them advance.

“ [For the Boy’s team] “We had some seniors who were determined to do the absolute best that they could possibly do this year since this was there last time around, that was a big asset. We also had youngster by the name of Charlie Groscup, who stepped up and lent his support. its great when you have seniors, they have a bit more drive.” said Null.

“The Girl’s work collectively as a unit. It’s a nice mix and everyone gets along really well, and there is a lot of team bonding that goes a long way.They’re very spirited and quite talented, they’re young and a little inexperienced but there’s definitely some leadership on the team. That has helped us a lot this year.”, Null said.

Every runner prepares for a race differently, Brady says that she focuses on not overdoing it the day before.

“[The day] Before a race, we normally take it easy, Make sure you’re well rested, Stretch out, hydrate, and we [the girls team] have a cheer that we do before races’, Brady said.

Groscup’s primary concern, on the other hand, is making sure he eats the right food.

“We do a light run the day before, and then we have a pasta party after, where there is a bunch of pasta, bread, gatorade, water. Get a good night’s sleep, and the next day you get up, eat a good breakfast: Some oatmeal, a banana maybe, and listen to some pre-game music before your race’ Groscup said.

Coach Null prepares his runners by not pushing them to hard so their muscles can rebuild for the big state meet.

“Basically just rest right now, we’ve done all we can do, we’ve been working all the way back to a week after track season (many cross country runners run track as well) in the beginning of June, so we’ve done all we can do. So, just resting and a little bit of polishing up in respect to a little bit of speed work, but other than that there’s not a whole lot else to be done, just get out there and run.” Null said.

The State meet is a big deal, and with so many different schools and runners attending and competing in the meet, each member of the team has a different goal in mind. Brady said that her goal, along with the rest of the girl’s team, is to beat their rival.

“We really want to beat Tuscarora, That’s our main competition right now, so I think just like, chasing them and trying to catch most of their girls is gonna be hard” said Brady.

Groscup said he was worried about keeping up in the stampede of runners will be difficult.

“ The fast tempo and that there’s so many people running in the meet, I’m guessing it will be really crowded. So it’ll be interesting to see how it goes.” said Groscup

As with every year, seniors leave the team and leave spots open for other athletes

”It’s gonna make it interesting. On the boy’s side, we’re gonna have to rebuild. We’ve got some good young talent, And I think that if they work hard, and i think they understand what hard work is all about. we should be able to put a team together and be competitive. Hopefully Chad Bessette, Charlie Groscup, and Aidan Mott will step up and give us some leadership. As far as the girls go, We don’t have that many Senior girls in terms of those who are running in the top seven. So our depth should not be to that extent that we would have to rebuild the girls squad. It should be a good year next year, it’s gonna be fun, it’s gonna be challenging, but it’s got a bright future” Said Coach Null.

Coach Null also added his advice for anyone who is considering joining the Cross Country team.

“Start easy, start gradually, but start, and get out here, and let’s see what you got.” Said Null.

Every runner focuses on a different thing, no two runner think the same way and they each prepare for races differently. But one thing will be the same. While Cross Country might not be on everyone’s radar, they will continue to work hard and continue on the proud tradition of being successful.