Cross country runners qualify for State

Cross+country+runners+before+they+leave+for+State.

Elaina Armata

Cross country runners before they leave for State.

This season, cross country had five qualifying runners make it to Sectionals, and three athletes qualified for State. This is the first time athletes have made it to State since 2019.

This year five athletes made it to Sectionals: Lucy Roscoe, Madison Petersen, Yaremi Ramos, Owen Davies, and Nick VonBrison. Out of these five runners, three of them made it to State. Madison Petersen
made it to state with a time of 19:35. Yaremi Ramos was another runner that made it to state, and her running time was 20:30. The third runner who made it to state was Owen Davies, whose running time was 17:53. The cross country team had to face multiple challenges like adjusting to a new coach, motivation, and more. There were many challenges that our runners faced while making it to Sectionals and qualifying for State. Some of the biggest challenges were staying motivated and having a new coach.

“It was kind of hard to get motivated to actually work hard enough,” said State qualifier Yaremi Ramos.

Some athletes, like Nicholas Von Briesen, also talked about being nervous.

“Motivation and nerves. I always get really nervous before races, so I end up throwing up a lot, so focusing on not throwing up and relaxing before the race,” said senior Nicholas VonBriesen.

Athletes also had to adjust to having a new coach, Jenny Spangler, who was recently an assistant coach.

“This season we had a new coach, so we had to kind of just read and go back to the basics and learn what she wanted us to do,” said State qualifier Owen Davies.

Many athletes plan to continue training, even in the off-season. They’re getting ready for the track, but some of them are planning on just relaxing.

“I want to relax, eat what I want to eat. You know, it’s nice not to go run and then you’re so tired. So I can just go straight home and have fun hanging out with friends more,” VonBriesen said.

Some athletes are more focused on getting ready for the track season and training to improve their time.

“After the season I want to do track, so hopefully I can keep improving in track too,” Ramos said.

Athletes have many goals for the season next year. They hope to improve and many also hope to place higher in State.

“Next season I would like to be placed higher in State than this year,” said State qualifier Madison Petersen.

Many of the runners enjoy cross country because they’ve been running for a long time, and it’s a fun atmosphere. They are looking forward to the next season. The coaches also take a big role in supporting the athletes and making cross country enjoyable for the runners.

“The coaches were big supporters, and I enjoyed running and being on the team and making new friends,” said freshman Lucy Roscoe.

Although many athletes love the atmosphere of the sport, other athletes also love cross country because they like to improve and see the results of hard work.

“I like to improve. I like to see that my hard work is paying off,” said State qualifier Owen Davies.

Senior Nicholas VonBriesen says he also enjoys cross country because of the fun atmosphere. He explains that everyone is really relaxed and nice. Cross country is a really fun time of the year for most also due to the coaching. There were many challenges athletes face when competing. Many athletes had to overcome mental blocks and overcome more challenges during the races.

“It was a lot about mental blocks and just trying to overcome a lot of obstacles during qualifiers and the pressure,” Roscoe said.