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Panther Prowler • Sept. 18, 2020 sports 15 Cross country races past coronavirus

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Dash- Lex and Leo Young practice hard for their postponed cross country meets. The cross country team is adapting to the new rules. “The practices are very different in structure with these new precautions, however our overall outcome and function is the same if not better,” Lex said. The team is growing stronger with tough exercise to keep their physical level excellent. Raymond Tran/With Permission

COVID-19 is a!ecting everyone, including

It is easy to lose initiative to stay in shape during quarantine, but for the mountain biking club, it all comes from self motivation. "e club was shut down in early March a%er schools closed and cannot open until it is safe. However, that has not stopped the members from continuing to practice the sport they love.

Ava Ahlberg, junior, joined the club in sixth grade. “My group of friends were joining and I wanted to try it out,” Ahlberg said. Fast forward $ve years and Ahlberg’s love for mountain biking has only grown. “I also love getting to connect with nature and see parts of the world you wouldn’t normally see by foot,” Ahlberg said. “"e community of people are also fun to be around and we share such a strong passion for it.”

During quarantine, Ahlberg still works hard on her bike. “I train with the varsity coach on the team and he has just been training me privately. In the beginning of quarantine I trained by myself or in a small group of teammates.” Ahlberg does admit that she o%en has to go on rides alone as a result of quarantine, but tries to go with her teammates as much as possible.

Nathaniel Schohn and Ben Kreinces, freshmen, have been part of the club since sixth grade as well. For Kreinces, a summer camp sparked his love for the sport but for Schohn it was his dad. “I started mountain biking because my dad got me into it, we started riding local trails and soon I loved the sport and loved riding with friends,” Schohn said. practice right when we went on break and since then we’ve done nothing,” Kreinces said. “I still ride with friends a couple times a week but only with friends not with the team.” "e amount of practice time has also decreased with the club temporarily disbanded. “With the team we’d go on rides four times a week but on my own I try to get in at least 3,” Schohn said. “You de$nitely see people from the team while riding, but it’s kind of hard to constantly practice riding because you can’t ride alone in case you fall,” Kreinces said. "e bikers believe they have valuable advice for newcomers. “It’s ok to fall or make mistakes,” Schohn said, “"at happens to everyone.” "ey all agree that it’s important to not to get discouraged even when you take a fall. “Just have fun!” Ahlberg adds. the cross country team that was number one in the nation last year, but the virus is not stopping them and they are still practicing hard. Leo and Lex Young, sophomores, and Dev Doshi, freshman, are among the runners who are working to make sure they are ready to compete again. "is year, the runners have to train together in small groups, socially distancing. Nevertheless, their practices are still as arduous as last year. “I think we are training just as hard as last year, if not harder,” Lex, who has been doing cross country for a year said. “"e only thing coronavirus will a!ect is our ability to race.”

NXN, the Nike Cross Nationals, has been cancelled this year. However, the team still has state meets and CIF which are postponed until December. “We’re not sure if we will be able to run in any meets for our school like before that in other states,” said Lex.

Even though the team is not able to meet together all of the time, they still have a strong bond. “All of us are sad that the season is canceled but..., team-wise we’re all still pretty close,” Doshi said.

A cross country season consisting of regular meets for competing would have happened every few weeks but coronavirus delayed their season to December and canceled most of their meets. “Because the season is so far delayed, our progression of di#cult workouts and stu! has been su#ciently slowed down,” Leo said. “We haven’t started doing the hardest workouts just yet like we normally would… It’s allowed buildup that could allow us to train better and smarter.” "e Newbury Park cross country team has a big reputation they’ve worked hard to cultivate. "is year’s team expects to keep that respect and try to improve their ranking. “I think it will push us farther up on the charts because most people aren’t doing anything,” Leo said “We already have the jump and keeping the $tness level up allows us to be more prepared than other teams.”

However, the team is taking a big hit this year with Nico Young and Jace Aschbrenner leaving the team, but they are adapting. “Even though we don’t have two frontrunners like that, I think we will be just as good as last year because of the fact that the backside has gotten a lot better and now we’ll be more of a tighter pack,” Lex said.

“"is season is going to be an interesting change to what we normally do however, I think we are going to adapt and come out even stronger,” Lex said. "e cross country team is very hopeful for this coming year and will be training very hard to maintain their outstanding

Newbury Park mountain biking team stays dedicated

Nandini Patro Staff Writer

Quarantine has made things slightly di#cult for the team but they still manage, “We had one prestige.