By Mina Yoo
After 3 months of strenuous practicing and endless running, the Girls Varsity Cross Country team has finally reached the finish line of their season. With only 4 returning varsity players and new coaches, the team initially had a difficult time adjusting, but they still ended their season with accomplishing statistics. During the final KAIAC game on Oct 25 at Korean International School., the girls earned 4th place while placing a close 4th for the entire KAIAC tournament.
“Although we were generally a new team going through lots of changes, I’m proud of how much we were able to accomplish this season,” Captain Sarah Chey, also a four-year cross country runner, commented. “Luckily, there were almost no injuries despite the hard practices. With the new runners, I saw huge potential in the team in the near future! Kill them next year girls.”
Also, on the recent API-Guam trip on October 17, the Lady Guardians created new records by earning 9th place out of 21 teams. This was the best stat of all Girls Varsity Cross Country history, as the team has never gotten above average before.
Throughout their crosscountry carrier, the girls keep track of their times in order to see if they made a new season personal record or career personal record. This year, Sydney Diffin, freshman, led her team with the fastest record of 22 minutes, 2 seconds. Minsoo Bae, Junior, followed her with the time 22 minutes, 42 seconds, creating her new carrier personal record. Following her was Kyla Swanson, Ashley Lee, Sarah Chey, then Irene Song.
Although the team was relatively new, the team had a strong bond.
As Sarah Chey ended her season, she remarked about her entire cross country carrier.
“Through the tough practices and challenges, we all were able to bond with one another which is always a unique part of cross country, and the part I love the most. Although the team is big unlike other varsity teams and varsity and jv practice together with not much distinction, we are like a family and form tight bonds throughout season. What I love the most about cross country is that it is truly a sport, anyone can do if you put in the effort. I started out a super slow runner but with the effort I put in during practices and off-season I was super pleased that all the hard work had paid off in the end. Cross country has taught me so much about not just running but persevering through everything I do no matter how tough it is. Goodbye cross country and goodbye shin splints. Thank you to my coaches and my captains and my teammates for encouraging me the whole way through!”