Cross Country’s season ends at Regionals
Senior Stephan Gardner competes against other varsity runners. Gardner placed eighth overall, but did not qualify for state.
November 2, 2015
While the end of October marks the beginning of a number of winter sports, it also means the end of fall sports, Cross Country included. The Cross Country Warriors headed to the Regional meet on October 28, and though they did not qualify for State, they brought the Warrior spirit to the 6AAAAAA region.
The Region race consisted of four divisions: JV Girls, JV Boys, Varsity Girls, and Varsity Boys. The top four teams for both Varsity Girls and Varsity Boys qualified for state, as well as the top six runners in each race. JV racers did not qualify for State, but still received awards.
No girls finished in the top ten, but the varsity team finished sixth place out of eight teams and the JV fourth place out of eighth. Top Varsity Girls included sophomore Abby Jeske with a time of 22:14 and freshman Lindsay O’Neill with a time of 22:45.
“I thought the race was a lot of fun,” Manager Sarah Punch said. “Everyone did really well, especially the girls, even if they didn’t qualify for state. It was overall a great season.”
Sophomores Evan Morning and Marco Mancuso work together to prepare Gatorade for the race. Team members must set up tarps and tents and prepare food for each race.
Senior Stephan Gardner finished eighth in the Varsity Boys race with his time of 17:05, earning him a medal but not a qualification for state. No JV Boy ranked in the top ten, but the team ranked seventh overall. The Varsity Boys finished sixth. Aside from Gardner, other top varsity runners included sophomore Anthony Graham with a time of 17:22 and senior Caleb Griffin with a time of 17:39.
“I felt that today went well and I’m really proud of how the team did this season,” sophomore Jared Nolan said. “I’m excited for the new sports: track season and swim season and I think we’re all in good shape for those. We’re ready to be better next year.”
The end of the race marked the end of the Cross Country season for the team until next summer when practices start up again.
Head Coach Sarah Bowling reflected on the end of the season: “Though the results were not what we had hoped for, we knew going into the race it would be a hard fight to get to State. We are learning from the experience this year and already looking to change things for next year. Our team gave every bit that they could on race day, and that’s all I can ask as a coach. They fought like Warriors.”
While the end disappointed many, Warriors continued to show sportsmanship and put their all into every race, contributing to an overall successful season and preparation to do better next year.
JV girls perform drills to warm up before the race. Warming up the muscles helps decrease risk of injury.
