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After over three miles of running, Cory Napiwocki (12) sees the finish line in sight. He kept pushing as he heard his teammates cheering from the sidelines.

   After a long bus ride, both boys and girls cross country competed at the Harrison Invitational at the Tippecanoe Amphitheater. The girls finished second overall with a score of 86 points. Their top finisher was Addison Roth (11) who finished in seventh with a time of 19 minutes and 41 seconds. Mackenzie Smith (10) shows us how, even in an individual sport, team relations still matter.

   “This year I have had a better relationship with my teammates. I’ve had more fun cheering them on and being there for them. I feel really good about being a team this year. It sucks to run, but finishing the races and seeing that you beat your time is just a great feeling to have and seeing your teammates, too. I loved last year Harrison when we placed really well as a team and we were all super excited because we didn’t expect it at all,” Smith (10) said. 

   In any team sport, it is always hard to see the seniors leave and move on. Samantha Lazowski (12) reflects on how her senior year has been going so far.

   “It’s my senior year, so I have more motivation to run hard. We (the team) are all really close. When we finish, we are all really excited for each other if someone has a good race,” Lazaowski (12) said. 

   The boys finished with 133 points putting them in fourth. Drew McGrath (11) was their top finisher with a time of 16 minutes and 26 seconds putting him tenth place. Evan Smith (10) agrees with Mackenzie Smith about the importance of being a team.

   “This year we (the team) have come more together as a team, and we have seen through our success in the season this far that we’re really starting to grind through the season and we are all really seeing the results of it.  It’s nice to see the whole team improving. My favorite part is the boys. This team is a great group of guys to spend every day with. I love spending time with these guys and running with them,” Evan Smith (10) said.

   Though much of the boys’ team is young this year, there are still a few seniors that are saying goodbye. Kaden Smith (12) is one of those few.

   “The last couple of years, I was hurt and last year I just didn’t do very well, so this year we’re putting a good team together and races are going well. My favorite part about running is the team aspect and just being able to push through the hurt in a race,” Smith (12) said.