The RBHS runners have worked to earn the boys a third place rank and the girls are seeded eighth, according to the Big River Running Company’s state rankings.
Although post-season started a little shaky – both teams squeezed through districts winning by only one point – last week, the boys dominated sectionals with a victory, and the girls nabbed second place to qualify and defend their titles in the meet tomorrow. The boys come in as the 2011 state champions, and the girls will run to defend or better their runner-up finish last year.
This afternoon, both teams had a chance to run the course in preparation for tomorrow’s events. Although the course is difficult, the strategy of the team is to focus on the end goal.
“A lot of people hype up the difficulty of the course, but I think the biggest challenge will be making sure we don’t get lost in the sheer number of people in the race; we have to make sure we race and not just run,” senior varsity runner Drew Floyd said. “Personally, I want to make the most of my last race as a part of RB cross country. But as a team, we’re looking for our fourth straight trophy and second consecutive state title. I know [senior] Nathan [Keown], [senior] Collin [Crosswhite] and I would all love to end our careers together as champions.”
For those who want to help cheer on the Bruin runners, a bus will leave the South Lot at 8:30 a.m. Admission is $7, and the weather will be in the high 40s to low 50s. The state meet is a meet the student body should watch, Floyd said, not only because it’s inspirational, but also because it is the last meet of the season.
“The state meet is amazing,” Floyd said. “It’s not only great to watch because of what’s on the line – the fans are awesome, too. People are painted up, mascots are roaming the course and the atmosphere around the whole meet is just electric. A couple years ago, Cooper Bloom [alumnus, Class of 2012] came to the state meet for the first time. It was so great he actually joined the team the next year.”
By Daphne Yu