Cross Country Team Face An Uphill Battle to Regionals

Green River’s cross country had their last tune-up race before NW Region Championship on Oct. 28 and the NWAC Championship on Nov 11.

On a chilly Saturday morning, the Green River country team met at Lower Woodland park in Seattle. A beautiful park, great scenery, and it overlooked the Green Lake. There were plenty of talented schools and clubs that participated in the race including: UW, Club Northwest, Northwest University and some unattached clubs.

Before the team was able to meet at Lower Woodland park, they actually had troubles getting there. The bus driver had driven the international student bus instead of the sports travel bus, but he did not realize it until he was already on the way. The team turned back around and went back to switch buses. It was an eventful morning for the runners. 

The Woodland park had an unusual course unlike the regular flatter courses. The course had a mixture of obstacles from straightaways to very steep hills making it difficult for the runners to pace themselves. On top of that it was already tough with the weather, Tyler Penrod,  says, “The hills were tough because it was a little cold” making it tough for runners to breathe. It was also a first time for runners Noah and Jasmine on this course.

According to coach Robert Bartholomew, this race was just a, “tune-up race for regionals and championship coming up and to see where we’re at”. Even though it was just a test race, Xavier and Natalie both hit a personal record. Xavier’s first time at this course he ran a 34.37,  and recorded a faster time of 32.07 on Saturday. Natalie also recorded her personal record of 28:47 while her previous time was 29:04. According to Xavier, he used the hills to his advantage, “I would use my momentum from going downhill because it took less energy from me”. It was a lot easier to go downhill than going uphill, so Natalie used her instincts she had learned from running. “Always stay on your toes going uphill it’s a lot easier” Natalie said. It was a mental battle for all runners dealing with the incline. While some struggled with the course, Alicia Medley says, “I did pretty well, tried my best, and I loved the course”

The boys went after the girls, so the girls were on the sidelines cheering their boys on as they competed. The team showed great sportsmanship and even cheered on other runners from different clubs/schools. Overall, it was a great meet that showed teamwork, sportsmanship, hard work and determination.

The team has the NW Region Championship Sat. Oct. 28th coming up and the NAWC Championship On Sat. Nov. 11. The Regional Championship will consist of schools like Everett, Olympic and Green River.

The team is now ready to run hard and prepare their bodies for the next two weeks. According to Coach Rob, one of their best runners Matthew Nechiporuk did not participate in the race Saturday due to injury, but he will use this time to recover and hopefully make regionals and the championship.

LaRee, on how she did on Saturday’s race, says, “I did pretty good, but I did better last week”, She was asked what she will do to prepare for regionals and have a better outcome than Saturday and she replied, “I’m gonna stretch, drink a lot of water, stay hydrated, practice hard and just be prepared mentally”. She has the right mindset and is definitely on the right path to be ready for regionals and championship with the time she’s given to practice and prepare.

Overall, the Green River cross country team did great, despite the cold weather and tough course.  They will use this time to train, prepare mentally and physically, and keep their bodies healthy for NW Region Championship and NWAC Championship. According to Coach Rob, the top 8 runners from every team will run in the NWAC championship.