The girls Cross Country season has come to an end. The girls wrapped up their season at Semi-State Saturday morning at Huntington College. The team began to train for the season in early June and has not slowed down since.

The team claimed many victories throughout the season including the South Bend City Championship, the Northwood invite, and the New Prairie Classic AA division. Unbelievable improvement was made by members of the team and I caught up with some of the girls to hear how they felt the season went.

Senior Mary Clare Eliot shared that “the season was the best senior season I could have asked for. The girls on this team made practice every day so much fun and they ran their hearts out all season.”

Another senior Cat Suarez echoed Eliot’s joy about the outcome of the season. “Our season was so successful. I am so happy I got to be part of such an amazing team. These are some of the best teammates I could’ve ever asked for. I’m going to miss this team so much and it was an amazing senior season.

Other underclassman varsity standouts shared how the season went for them as well. First-year runner, sophomore Molly Bellia told The Square, “The season was the happiest 3 months of my life. I loved everyone so much and I think the team dynamic was great. It was fun to work hard with people I loved being around. I’m sad it’s over but super excited for future seasons running together!”

Freshman Cam Ritschard finished the season in the team’s top three and reflected that her first season was “great because of the supportive and fun nature of the team”. She also etched Bellia’s excitement for future seasons to come.

Three junior standouts, Mia Ritschard, Tess Collins, and Ava Rousseve all shared that this was their favorite season after three years and are looking forward to their last season together next year. Collins spoke about how this season finished with, “ really great feelings about overall performance and getting to have a full season with no meet cancelations due to covid.”

All the girls agree that since June the team has been growing closer and even as workouts have grown more intense the team dynamic fuels the runners to athletic and social successes.