Cross Country is not a sport everybody typically shows up to like football or basketball but, this year’s cross country team is something to be excited about. 

They started out this season with the girl’s team placing 2nd overall in the Pickerington North Invitational on August 28th. Fast forward a couple of weeks and both boys and girls teams placed first overall in the Zane Trace Invitational in Chillicothe on September 11th, which consists of a 3-mile course with a massive hill you have to climb during the race. 

The very next week, September 18th, the Wildcats won again; both boys and girls teams placed first overall in the Bobcat invitational. Each racer on the team also received an ax on a wooden plaque as a trophy. A lot of racers have had this goal for years to receive an ax and win the race. 

The Zane Trace invitational is typically a big event coach and players look forward to every year.

A sense of urgency was a big motivator for the team this year and head coach Jimmy Gual, 16th year leading the wildcats. With Covid ruining so much of the fun from sports that we all know, this year players were more eager and excited to compete. The thought of a normal season was very exciting for runners and coaches.  

 Team bonding was very important for both players and coaches as well. According to players, team bonding was very important since the team was separated into pods last year and could not practice all together every day. 

According to Coach Gaul and the players what practice looked like compared to last year, these harder practices consisted of runners running more miles at a faster pace. More distance in a slower amount of time is essentially what it comes down to. 

As stated by coaches and players, training is Monday-Friday with race days on Saturday; players on light days would run 5-6 miles, and on harder training days typically 11-12 miles. Training also consisted of lifting a couple of days a week as well. 

Overall, the team has competed well and will hopefully continue to be successful. The drive is there; the togetherness is there, and the work has been put in by all. The season continues with the Wildcats on Oct. 9 in Johnstown.