Cross Country in 5A

BY CALEB CRUM '24, Staff Reporter

In the fall of 2021, Bayside’s Boys and Girls Cross Country teams won a state title, which moved the teams up to 5A. This change creates new challenges as the teams face harsher competition than last year while still racing on the same courses. Throughout the season, each member has to work as a cohesive team rather than fighting for their own times due to the added competition and challenges. When asked about her thoughts on competing in 5A cross country, sophomore Annie Midyett said, “We have a lot more competition this year, and it's going to be more of a challenge. ” The team needs to have a unified goal that isn't just getting better times. While better times is an acceptable goal, the boys team lost to Bayshore Christian School at the county meet on Sep. 27. While predicted to beat Bayshore, Bayside lost. Assistant Coach Taylor Gray said, “[Bayshore] won because they had a unified goal of ‘Beat Bayside. ’ When they saw someone from Bayside, they saw a win. ” Along with Coach Gray, J. T. Neill, a senior runner on the cross country team, said “We need to focus more on being a team. ”

It is clear that many athletes on the team accept that this year they will have to go up against tougher, faster competitors. Although the entire state meet on Nov. 5, 2022 had some troubles, it also made all of them work harder and push harder against the other teams. Sadly, the boys placed third and the girls placed second. As a member of the team, I can attest we all ran our hardest. Throughout the entire season, the team has become more of a family and has grown together through various challenges.

The Cross Country team holds up their trophy at Sectionals. [M. Postle] “Father and son” J. T. Neill and Wright Farguson sport sunglasses after their state meet. [C. Doyle]