By De Equitibus Staff
Cross country practice may be hard but it’s worth it in the long run for our Tempe Prep team. Many of our TPA runners were able to improve their 5K times, some by over 3 minutes. Both of our teams ran at sectionals, with the girls’ team placing 6th (one spot away from qualifying for state). Additionally, two of our top runners were able to qualify individually for the state meet.
Coaches Award: Jacob Steineke
Most Valuable Runner: Jacob Cryder
Most Improved Runner: Trevor Kerber
HS Cross Country Girls:
Coaches Award: Rachel Dinh
Most Valuable Runner: Katherine Camberg
Most Improved Runner: Isabella DiCaro
Many of our runners had impressive improvements this season. Patrick Pagnozzi had the biggest improvement this year, improving his time from last year by 3 minutes and 24 seconds. Trevor Kerber also had an improvement of over 3 minutes. This means that these runners improved their mile pace by a minute or more, which is a very impressive feat!
At our sectionals meet, runners Jake Cryder and Kat Camberg were able to qualify individually for the state meet despite hot weather and a challenging course. To qualify individually Kat and Jake had to place in the top 25 at the sectional meet. They succeeded in qualifying with Kat placing 17th and Jake placing 18th.
At the state meet, Kat and Jake both raced well. The course for the state meet is extremely hilly and a hard course to race on. Despite this, both runners had a fast race, and Kat had her best time of the season at the state meet. After finishing the race, Jake commented that it was one of his favorite races because of all the competition with the other fast runners from all across the state. Kat and Jake also both placed much higher than they were seeded: Kat placed 41st but was seeded 75th and Jake placed 81st but was seeded to be 101st.
Runners who wish to continue training during the winter season can join Mr. Granville’s half-marathon training. These runners will be training to run the P.F. Chang half-marathon in January. They will also do multiple other trail runs. Cross country has also left runners well prepared for winter sports.
Overall our runners have enjoyed their experiences on the cross country team this year. Whether it was the team dinners, the ultimate Frisbee practices, the friendships with their teammates, or the joy of running and competing, every team member enjoyed being part of the cross country team this year. Bella DiCaro, who has been a part of TPA cross country for years, explains, “I was happy to improve my times this season, and I have really enjoyed being part of the team.”
Click HERE for the Fall Sports Awards photo gallery.