Cross Country sprints to CCS

RUN LIKE YOU MEAN IT! Freshman Sophia Xiao dashes her way through miles of terrain

By Jacqueline Nguyen

Both Girls Varsity and Boys Varsity teams will run at CCS (Central Coast Section) Championships, taking place tomorrow at Crystal Springs Cross Country Course in Belmont, Calif.   JV and Varsity Cross Country teams raced against other schools at League Championships at the same cross country course last Monday for the chance to compete at championships.

To prepare for League Championships and CCS, runners have been disciplining themselves, doing many tasks to keep their health up and their game strong.  According to Varsity runner Eric Wei, runners have been training since a month before the school year started.

“We put in a lot of energy and time because practice is six days a week for Varsity,” he comments.  “We (wanted) to do well enough to make CCS again.”

JV runner Mabel Orais has been doing what she can to get herself through the rigor of practices.

“I’ve been pushing myself hard during practice and trying to eat healthy,” she explains.  “Usually, after we run, our muscles are really sore so we roll each other out.  That usually helps us out with our injuries.”

A big challenge faced by runners is the fatigue in legs caused by strenuous and continuous running, according to Varsity member Iris Wu.

“In general, as the season goes on, our legs get really fatigued,” she elaborates.  “It takes a lot of upkeep.  We need to take care of our legs.  We need to make sure we’re stretching, and I think it’s just a lot of wear on our legs as the season goes on.”

Although they’ve made it to championships, members of the Varsity teams who will compete in championships remain humble, hoping for everyone to try their best.

“We’re mostly racing against our personal best,” expounds Wu.  “We’re trying to do the best that we can to represent our school.  We’re not particularly out there to beat a particular school or anything like that.  We’re just out there to do our best.”

Runners mainly attribute their successes in League Finals to the support of coaches, friends and family.

“The thing that contributed to our success is probably our coaches that have supported us throughout the whole season,” comments Varsity member Bryan Chu.  They put us through the right training.  They put us through all the miles we ran.”

League Championships marked a bittersweet end to the season for many runners, especially for the seniors, since this is the last year they get to run with the team before heading off on their own paths.

“This season we were all really tired,” remembers Wu.  “It’s a lot of hard work, but I have a lot of good memories with Cross Country.  The people I hang out with are the people I’ve met from Cross Country, so it’s kind of bittersweet knowing the season’s ending because (Cross Country) is something that really impacted my life in a positive way.”

Orais will miss the friendships she has made through cross country.

“It’s really sad because you get really attached to them and it’s like you’re family now,” she reminisces.