Girls’ cross country runs with spirit

On a normal Friday after school, a few cross country girls make their way down to the track for practice. When they arrive, they find the Powerpuff girls jogging around the field, Peter Pan talking to the coach and Mickey Mouse drinking from the water fountain.

Every Friday, the girls hold spirit days when they dress up according to certain themes such as cartoon characters. With celebrations like spirit days and Senior Day, the team has come together with plenty of excitement.

“Cross country is so much fun; it’s a team sport, and we do a lot of team bonding,” coach Danny Moon said. “We have to have fun because if we’re not having fun, we’re doing something wrong.”

At the home meet on Sept. 18, the girls celebrated Senior Day, dedicated to the 18 seniors on the team. The underclassmen painted posters for the seniors, gave them gifts such as doughnuts and kites and made T-shirts based on the candy theme.

“It was nice seeing that the girls care for each other,” senior Tina Pourani said.

Aside from special celebrations like Senior Day, senior captain Courtney Schlossareck said the girls also dress up, play games such as relays and “Sharks and Minnows” and enjoy desserts and snacks during spirit days.

“I think making a competition out of [spirit days] allows the girls to have fun, but at the same time they are still working hard and training,” Schlossareck said. “The girls can also get to know the people on their team better.”

Seniors Olivia Whiting and Abby Wolfe, who organize the spirit days, said some of the past themes include neon colors, animals, pirates versus ninjas, cartoon characters, princesses and more.
"We want [spirit days] to include everyone, while not being too difficult for the team to dress up for," Whiting said. "Spirit days are a time for the team to have fun, play a few games and get silly."

Even during the meets, Schlossareck said the team has loads of energy when cheering teammates on.

“It might not seem like a lot, but hearing your teammates cheer you on to run just a little faster can make a huge difference,” Schlossareck said. “We also wear racing ribbons during the meets as a good luck charm.”

ith the growing spirit that the team has developed throughout the season, the girls competed at Central Park in Santa Clara on Sept. 25, where varsity placed fourth out of 14 schools and junior varsity placed seventh out of 13 schools. The team also had a total of 14 personal records for girls who had run the course before.

The team also ran Crystal Springs on Oct. 9, a challenging, dusty 2.9 mile course with many hills and turns. The freshman placed sixth out of 13 teams, the sophomores placed eighth out of 14 teams and the seniors finished 4th out of 14 teams. The team also had a total of two personal records for runners who had previously run the course.

The following meet was at Baylands on Oct. 16, the longest meet of the season at 3.1 miles. The next meet will be at Lynbrook on Oct. 25, a 2.06 mile course that the girls will run for the second time this season.