Cross country season is well underway with two meets done. Most recently this past weekend Sept. 7 the Marauders competed in the Southlake Invitational.
Varsity boys came 22nd out of 35 teams and the girls scored 8th out of 34. The jv teams stepped up with the boys placing 3rd out of 30 teams and the girls placing 2nd out of 18.
The cross country team kicked off their season when they hosted and competed in the Marcus Invitational on Aug. 31. It was held at North Lake Park in Denton and had 35 teams and over 3,000 athletes in attendance.
Overall, the varsity boys came in 3rd out of 29 teams with junior William Gravitt getting 14th out of 238 runners. The varsity girls came in 11th, with sophomore Austin Owen getting 10th out of 199 athletes.
To prepare for the start of their season, the athletes trained over the summer, running about 60 miles a week.
“We had a really strong summer so that could really help us do well into the season because the summer is the most important part of our training,” senior Captain Ryan Fillingim said. “To have a strong season we need to have a base.”
The boys entered the meet with expecting to just go out there and run with the goal of at least placing in the top 5 as a team. After they placed 3rd Fillingam felt as if they had done very well as a team.
The girls’ training also paid off, according to senior Captain Claire Reader. She said that while the team didn’t place as high as they wanted at their first meet, many of them set personal records.
Senior Anoop Braich approaches the finish line. These races are most often spread over a large area and not in a straight line.
“This shows that our summer training was effective,” Reader said. “I think it will help set the tone for the rest of the season.”
Reader also mentioned that Telaneus and Coach Andrew Reinburg ran around the track alongside the athletes, encouraging them to keep pushing and catch up with and help their teammates.
“They were running around as much as we were,” Reader said.
Reinburg has high hopes for the rest of the season and believes that his runners’ performance at the meet is putting them on the right path.
“I was extremely proud of how we performed,” Reinburg said. “A lot of young kids and a lot of upperclassmen really stepped up. A lot of young talent [is] coming up and I feel like were going to see a lot more out of them.”
The team’s next meet is the Southeastern OK Invitational on Sept. 13. It will be held at Southeastern OK University.
