Running along the groove of the season. 

The cross country team has had strong performances the past two weeks and have placed high in both meets. 

In the Trinity Valkyrie Invitational at Tom Sawyer Park, the boys showed their best performances against tough competition. The girls showed their best as well in the Hopewell Invitational the following week. The team showed promise that they are reaching the goals they set for themselves earlier in the year. 

Much like the previous meets, seniority showed on the boys side of the competition in the Valkyrae meet. Seniors Isaiah Malone and Tyler Bass finished 11 and 14, respectively, out of 200 runners with times of 17:12.54 and 17:21.95. Bass is happy with his performance, and feels that he is right where he needs to be. “It was a big step in the right direction. The beginning of the season did not go as planned so hopefully I can keep cutting my times down,” Bass said. Sophomore Bryce Hogan followed in 45 place out of 200 with a time of 18:14.83. In the Hopewell Invitational, Bass placed 22 out of 170 followed by sophomore Bryce Hogan and juniors Jake Swift and Gage Thorpe. 

On the girls side, the team was hurt by COVID-19 during the Trinity Valkyrae meet. Junior Raelee Hawkins was the top placer in 27 with a time of 22:08.19. She was followed by sophomores Shelbie Heath and Emma Ekbundit in 104 and 120, respectively. With the team a bit healthier the next week in the Hopewell Invitational, the team showed a stronger performance. 

In the Hopewell meet, the girls team placed third overall out of 18 teams. Eighth grader Savannah Mooney led the way in first place out of 150 runners, which is a top performance on the year. Fellow eighth grader Alex Egan was close behind in 11 place and senior Mia Maguire in 24. Hawkins, Heath and Ekbundit followed.

Moving closer to the postseason, the team has been putting in more specialized work for the state meet. The course run on the Hopewell Invitational is the same course used in the state meet, so it gave the team some extra experience. Bass said, “we just ran the state course and it helped us prepare a lot for state because it was the first time most of us have ran it. It is very hilly so we have been doing a lot more hill work to prepare for it.” The team is giving strong efforts every week and looks to keep improving as the season goes on. 

Their next meet is the Greater Louisville Classic at Tom Sawyer Park Saturday, Oct. 2. It starts at 1:30 p.m.