The cross country team finished their 2018 season with the boys team finishing third place, missing second by just one point and advancing to the regional tournament. Overall cross country placed fourth as a team.

“I started because of triathlons, and I just found out that running is not as hard as I thought it was,” Mareck Remington, a senior on varsity, said. “I started to enjoy it because I could easily drop time and it’s something I could do wherever. Swimming, I can only do that in the pool.”

The team didn’t get far without dedicating dozens of hours throughout the year to prepare for events.

“We have practices in the morning, so sometimes it’s hard to motivate yourself when it’s not season,” junior Ellie Beck said. “Sometimes we lose people just because it’s like ‘oh, it’s not season anymore!’”

Remington echoed the same, saying that making sure everybody shows up is top priority. If they don’t show up to practice before an event, they run the risk of not being allowed to participate.

To members of the cross country team, running is not only a workout; it also encourages self-improvement.

“I’ve learned a lot about self-motivation,” Beck said. “Cross country is one of those things where, if you don’t try you’re not going to get better. It really taught me, especially in school, too, where as long as I push myself and keep trying things will naturally come easier.”

While Beck learned a lot about herself, others learned more about their physical limits.

“I’ve been able to push myself harder in cross country than I have in swimming,” Remington said. “Because it’s a different style of training than I did with swimming, it requires me to push myself more than I had to in swimming. It’s more endurance-focused.”

With the boys team missing second place by one point, they want to push themselves to place even higher next year.

“There are a bunch of seniors on the varsity team about to graduate,” Remington said. “We’re going to get some new varsity people, and the older varsity kids will be there to help them improve.”

With next season getting closer, the team is looking to add members to the team who will strive to continue their success.

“I think someone who’s good at motivating themselves would be good for the team,” Beck said. “It’s easy to get into it because people on the team will encourage you and tell you you’re doing really well. You can start at the bottom and work your way to the top.”