After a strange season last year, the boys and girls Cross Country team finished their season strong, sending six people to compete at State on October 30th. Although state didn’t go as planned, they were still happy with their performance this season.

At state, three boys and three girls qualified to compete at state, and unfortunately junior Mady Muehr and freshman Lauren Alenius had knee injuries and were unable to finish the race. Luckily, senior Angie Oliveras was able to finish the race in 98th place. “I’ve been injured since the beginning of the season, and I’ve only finished about three races this season. It’s just mentally draining and it will take a while to get back to where I once was,” Muehr said. 

Along with the three girls that went to state, three boys also went to state. Junior Noah Adams finished in 166th, senior Connor Polenske finished in 83rd, and senior Ben Barutzke finished in 41st. “I thought my performance was pretty good. I went into it thinking I wasn’t even going to be close to top 50 since last time at state, which was my sophomore year, I placed somewhere around 120. Getting 41st was a big accomplishment for me personally,” Barutzke said. 

At the end of every season, every team must say goodbye to their group of seniors. When playing a high school sport, you should take in any moment whether it may be good or bad, and make the most of it. Oliveras said, “I am going to miss running a 5k race because in collegiate running girls have to run a 6k. I am also going to miss the friends I have met from other schools through the sport because it really is a sport that makes you feel like you are a part of something bigger than yourself. All the people and lessons that you learn are what I’m going to miss the most about high school cross country.” 

At the end of any sports season, there is a lot to reflect and look back on. Everyone has their ups and downs in the season, and there will always be room for improvement for next season. “We are excited at the growth both in running and team chemistry that our runners experienced during the year. Nearly all of our runners ran their best race at the end of the season which shows that they put in the time and effort needed,” coach Brian DeSalvo said.