As the Cross Country Cats run towards the end of the season, they are all expressing their excitement for districts on November 2nd. The Cats have had a better season than previous years and recently the boys team placed first on their home meet that was held at the Shawnee Bend Golf Course on Oct. 1.
The boys team placed 7th overall at the Buffalo meet on Oct. 10, 2nd at the Conference meet in Butler on Oct. 17 and 2nd at the El Dorado Springs meet on Oct. 22. All-Conference Medalists were seniors Wesley Jackson (6th), junior Kaleb Ragle (8th), and senior Jaxson Deckard (9th).
Cross Country is a very mental sport and takes a lot to run in each meet
“It takes a lot of work to run cross country. You’ve gotta want it, you’ve gotta have determination, grit, courage, and you’ve gotta break through that mental barrier, as well as the physical barrier. Not very many people outside of running sports realize that cross country/ track is as much a physical game as it is a mental game. If you don’t get it in your head that you’ve succeeded and done well, you have already failed,” sophomore Maya Daughenbaugh said.
Some of the athletes find joy in other things about the sport and it’s not always about competing.
“My favorite part is the prayer circles we have before running. We pray as a team then gather all the runners who want to pray with us. Most of the runners join. It is an incredible show of sportsmanship before we all compete,” senior Jaxson Deckard said.
Since the beginning of the season the team has progressed throughout the season which means the runners themselves have also gotten faster.
“This season, I have improved a lot more compared to previous seasons and have dropped my personal record by 20 seconds,” junior Brayden Henderson said.
Most of them are ready for districts and have team goals that they practice every day to reach, but they also have self goals that make them strive to get better everyday.
“I am looking forward to Districts. I have a chance of making it to State this year. I am very excited to push myself and hopefully my performance will be good enough to go,” Deckard said.
Cross Country can be physically demanding on an athlete’s body and oftentimes throughout the season athletes can have injuries occur.
“My season was going well, until I got a serious injury. My parents told me I am not allowed to run until I get it checked out/MRI, the earliest I could get in was the 28th, so I’m essentially out for the season. However, I still go to practices and meets to cheer my teammates on,” said Daughenbaugh.
Coach, Ehren Banfield, has built many memories and relationships in his many years of coaching.
“My favorite part is to see the continued improvement of my athletes over the season and the years. It is also nice to see them medal and qualify for state. It is a fun experience to see them move to a higher level of competition,” Banfield said.
