Fall sports are back in season, and with that comes boys and girls cross country. Both cross country teams had their first home meet of the season on Aug. 30. This meet is known as the Crosstown Classic: an annual meet against Niles North. This meet, like last year’s, was successful with both the boys and girls winning.
Coming into the season, the girls cross country team welcomed 18 new members. Anne Heselton, physical education teacher and girls’ head coach, was proud of the improvement on the team and thought the new athletes handled the experience successfully.
“The first meet was an excellent showing for their first time out. We have 18 freshmen on the team, so there were lots of new faces just having their first race experience, and I thought they navigated it successfully,” Heselton said
Heselton found the upperclassmen helping out new teammates. She also believes that the constant repetition of dynamic stretching and warm-up miles have been a part of the success for the first home meet.
“[The girls] were definitely prepared, and I think part of that preparation comes from the coaches repeatedly telling them things… They definitely had lots of information given to them and some of the upperclassmen and girls who have been on the team longer definitely have taught the newer athletes… about what’s going to happen at the meet,” Heselton said.
Senior Allison Thannert describes her favorite moment of the race being the team huddle. She enjoys the team bonding moments before the race that allows her stress to dissipate.
“My favorite part of this meet is when we run out in front of the race and we huddle up and give our little talk. I think it’s so fun and little team bonding moments get all the worry away,” Thannert said.
Junior Tristan Lee won the boys meet after being a part of cross country for three years. He enjoyed the adrenaline that came with winning and is looking forward to going to state and hopefully winning conference.
“It feels really good to, I mean, not only win the meet, but a meet that I’ve been running for so long… It just felt really great. I’m in the front and it feels like all the adrenaline is just going. I’m really hoping that our team will be pretty good and I hope that maybe I could make it down to state. I think that our team has a great shot at winning conference this year,” Lee said.
Thannert acknowledges that this first race was not her best, but is excited for future home meets like Pat Savage.
“It definitely wasn’t my best race, but since it was the first meet and we only went up against North, I was fine with it…I am so excited for Pat Savage because it is a huge home meet and it’s our senior night,” Thannert said.
