By Alexa Willrich, Staff Reporter
As they crossed the finish line and saw their times, sophomore Alexia Tubbs and senior Shane Walsh realized they were headed to the cross country state championship.
Undefeated in the Central League this year, the girls’ varsity cross country team finished first at the Central League championship. The boys’ varsity team finished third. Both teams competed and placed in mutliple invitationals and Central League meets throughout the season.
“I kind of knew when I went across the line that I was going (to states) again. I was excited but was disappointed that I wasn’t going as a team,” Walsh said.
The state championship took place at Hersheypark on Nov. 4 with more than 200 runners and around 20 teams. Tubbs finished 103rd out of 237 runners with a time of 20:47 in the Girls 5,000 Meter Run, and Walsh placed 65th out of 239 runners with a time of 17:04 in the Boys 5,000 Meter Run. Despite the two runners not competing as a team, teammates and friends came to support Tubbs and Walsh for the race.
“There are good days and bad days, and thankfully I had really great support (from) friends who showed up or were cheering on from home so that really made it worth it,” Tubbs said.
During the season, the team practiced every weekday and raced on the weekends. The team separated into training groups determined by how fast team members were to help them work and improve together. Before all Central League meets, the team got together with the help of parents and its booster club for a pasta dinner.
“I think everybody on the team is pretty close, so (we) just push each other in races, and we race together,” said junior and girls’ team captain Lily Jones.
Last year, the girls made it to the state championship as a team, but this year neither the boys’ or girls’ teams qualified. The teams, however, are still looking into the future and focusing on their goals and strategies for next year.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t have a good district race, so that kind of hurt us in qualifying for states,” said cross country head coach Richard Hawkins. “But next year, my goal would be to get the boys and girls to qualify for states.”
Alexa Willrich can be reached at [email protected].
