This year the cross country team had a small team of only three people, coached by Craig Fredrick for a second year. Despite a drop in athletes and only one new freshman, the cross country team focused on PR’s (personal records) and attitudes.

“[My PR] right now is 20:04,” freshman Gus Hemberger said. “I’m feeling pretty good. my goal is 18:30 by the end of the year.”

Hemberger said he still plans to push and get those PR’s up.

“[I’m planning to get my PR up by] staying healthy, keeping the right mindset and working every day in practice as much as I can,” junior Sydney Zoglmann said.

Since the team was too small to place as a team, the focus was on individual improvement.

“[I’m planning to get my PR up by] running on the weekends, then run, run, and probably a little more running, and when I’m not running I’ll start running,” junior Isaiah Rivera said.

The atmosphere of practices seemed to push the athletes to run a little harder.

“[The atmosphere was] neutral and kind of intense; I think it’s pretty good but chill,” Zoglmann said. “We are there to push each other, but we aren’t gonna push each other down if something bad happens.” 

Cross country is an individual sport that depends a lot on the athletes’ own mindsets.

“I think the season is going really good. Personally, I think something that stuck out was my mind set. I’m more positive this year,” Zoglmann said.

Regional cross country is Oct. 19 at Marion High School.