The RBHS Cross Country team competed at the Gans Creek Classic on Saturday, Sept. 23, with the boys’ team winning first place and the girls’ team coming in seventh place.
Racing in the highly competitive gold division, the girls’ team earned 320 points, beating 28 other teams. The boys’ team received 144 points in the gold division, beating all 42 teams.
Junior Ethan Hockman said it was important for his team to get into a good mindset during the race. He said he felt he and his teammates were able to stay relaxed throughout the entire race.
“We have a lot of young guys and a lot of us are still learning what works best during the race,” Hockman said. “As a team, we lowered our points and spread throughout the whole race, and with the big screens every 1k at Gans, I would get really motivated to look up and see us keep moving throughout the race.”
For sophomore Claire Richardson, she said getting in the right mindset before the race is something she believes she and her teammates should work to improve on.
“I think our team can definitely improve on how we approach the line and deal with our pre-race nerves,” Richardson said. “We definitely all got in our heads this past race and need to improve on going into the race with more confidence.”
Caring for and trusting one another was something Richardson said she felt was an important part of her team’s success. She also said she thinks her team is able to stand out from the competition due to the faith everyone has in each other.
“I think the trust we establish in each other is what sets our team apart from other teams,” Richardson said. “We truly acknowledge that we are competing for each other and not for our own personal gains.”
Teamwork during races is something Hockman said he would like to see more of. He hopes his team will be able to work to support each other more in future races.
“We want to create a pack with each other during the race,” Hockman said. “We all have different racing styles, but to run together holds us accountable and motivates us to keep moving up throughout the race because we know our teammates are doing the same for us.”
Both teams said they are pleased with how they performed at Gans Creek, but are still looking to keep improving as the season progresses.
“We got the win which is great considering the things we have to improve upon as individuals and as a team,” Hockman said. “I’m really excited to see what we can do by the end of the season.”
Following the meet at Gans Creek, the cross country team will be training for their next meet on Sept. 30, where they will be traveling out of state.
“I’m looking forward to our next meet where we get to compete at a meet hosted by Nike,” Richardson said. “We get to race under the lights in Terre Haute, Indiana and I’m so excited for all the memories my teammates and I will make there.”
How do you feel about how RBHS performed at Gans Creek? Let us know in the comments below.
