Boys Cross Country

Racing with change

Boys cross country team splits into subgroups

Andrew Haughey haughand000@hsestudents.org

This season has been different than most for the boys cross country team as the coronavirus originally threatened to cancel any plans for a 2020 season. Nonetheless, the season has gone on, and with it, changes have occurred. The first of these changes happened near the beginning of the season when many runners had to adjust to the fact that they may not be able to run in meets. Senior runner Nathan Jordt said this was because the team is traditionally divided into a primary group and a secondary group. He said that the primary gets most of the attention from coaches. “Secondary was told at the beginning of the season that they would not be racing at all,” Jordt said. “That impacted a lot of people because they began to question what the point [of being on the team] was. That hurt our team a lot.” Jordt explained that the team was further broken down beyond the primary and secondary groups into subgroups. These subgroups are arranged so that the first subgroup contains the fastest runners, the second group contains the second-fastest runners, and so on. “In primary we’ve always been a bit nervous about what could happen [in regards to the coronavirus],” Jordt said. “So we are a bit more careful than the rest.” Another change this year has come from the coaching staff. Junior runner Alec Foster said that there have been new volunteer coaches this year. These coaches have helped to puch

the team. “It’s been really helpful for coaches,” Foster said. “With a 70 person team it’s really hard for two coaches to control everybody.” Two of these coaches ran at Fishers when in high school and have been able to help coach due to being in the area because of the coronavirus. “While coaching they are able to run with us, which helps to push us,” Foster said. “Since they’re previous runners they’re not just coaches telling us what to do. They are able to bring some of their own coaching styles in.” These coaches have been helping to manage the many subgroups mentioned previously. Sophomore runner Tate Meaux said these subgroups are not a normal feature of the team. “We’re split into groups this year to minimize the spread [of the coronavirus],” Meaux said. “It’s been different not having that whole-team interaction.” Despite the lack of interaction between the subgroups on the team, Meaux said the goal this year is the same as it is every year: win state. “Every day we come to practice with the attitude that this [winning state] is what we want to do,” Meaux said. “Each workout and each week is getting us closer and closer to that goal.” The varsity team races again on Oct. 17 in regionals at the Delta Regional cross country course.