Cross country works to push through the finish line despite challenges

Boys’ cross country captain Adi Hebbalae leads the team during SCVAL League at Crystal Spring on Oct. 18.

The boys’ team has struggled to keep up motivation while the girls’ team has struggled with low numbers.

After the cross country regular season ended, the boys’ team was 5th out of 7 teams in the El Camino and the girls’ team was 6th.

At the team’s recent SCVAL League meet on Oct. 18, the boys placed 11th out of 14 schools and the girls placed 12th out of 13 schools. Sophomore Jack Dong ran the fastest for the boys team, placing 44th among 130 runners with a time of 17.49 for 3.1-mile race. Junior Anisha Rahut did the best for the girls team, placing 56th out of 101 runners. Runners are preparing for their last two meets: SCVAL League Finals on Oct. 31 and CCS on Nov. 11.

So far, the boys’ team has achieved similar results compared to last year, where they also placed 5th out 7 teams. This is mainly due to the loss of runners like Wasil Khan to graduation and the loss of strong current members such as senior Steven Sun and junior Pranav Rajan due to schedule conflicts.

According to junior captain Adi Hebbalae, another major issue is that freshman runners are not consistently running with full strength because they struggle to keep up motivation during long distance runs. However, under head coach Ian Tippetts’s guidance, many of them have set reachable goals to help push themselves to the fullest.

“In the beginning, I wasn’t that fast, and didn’t have a set goal,” said JV runner Samarth Hangud, who placed 13th out of 119 runners during a meet at Crystal Springs on Oct 10. “However, as I started to run with my teammates, I began to push myself and run for the team.”

By focusing on pack running and sticking as a group during practices, the boys have been able to get the most out of their training as they are able to practice techniques such as “wind tunneling,” which eliminates air resistance and boosts overall team speed, Hebbalae said.

On the other hand, the girls’ team’s biggest challenge is that it has only seven runners — the minimum number needed to be eligible to race — and no seniors. Junior captain Anisha Rahut and other veteran runners have had to step up to help the four freshman runners: Neha Sharan, Suzy Xie, Aradhita Singh and Emma Merrill.

Rahut believes that if they had a larger roster with more experienced runners, the team would have performed much better.

“I’m excited for those freshmen who are going to come from eighth grade,” Rahut said. “There will be more experienced runners next year and I know we can do better.”