written by Ethan Neal

Cross country started off its season at Borden. All three members of last year’s team returned this season. Junior Alex Titus finished the race 34 out of 64 runners. The team, while not making a top finish, still had a positive performance. 

“I feel our team has improved a lot since last year. We all have had personal records this season and plan to continue and improve,” Titus said. The team feels they have grown stronger both at running, and at coming together since last season. 

“I was really hoping we would have some new members join the team this year,” coach Amanda Carmichael said. While disappointed by the turnout, she said, “I am confident that we will continue to become more competitive and lower our times overall. We would really like to have more team members so that we would be able to compete as a team and not just individuals. These kids have put in a lot of work and deserve that for their senior season.”

The team, while down on numbers, has continued to better their times. Junior Ashton Lily improved his time by 5 minutes since last year, a large improvement for just under a year. He said, “I improved since last season a whole bunch. Last season, I be taking last and this season I am finishing really well.” 

This is something Carmichael specifically commented on, saying, “Everyone on the team has improved their times significantly from last season. We have definitely shown large amounts of improvement.”

The team is hoping to finish the season strong as they approach sectional. The teams sectional is on October 10 at Eastern Pekin. They will be matched up against Borden, Christian Academy of Indiana, Corydon Central, North Harrison, Crawford County, Floyd Central, New Albany, Lanesville, Providence, South Central, and Paoli.