State competitions came to a close for the girls cross country team. Friendships have been made and metals have been won throughout the season. As the season comes to a close, the practices get more intense and the excitement of state arises.

“We had a great season, higher expectations that the previous years. Not only did we want to make it the State Meet, we wanted to place in the top three,” explained head coach Dawn Podolske.

The girls cross country team started practicing in late August. They practiced every day after school and Saturdays until the start of November. The girls work together to succeed and have fun.

“We had 46 girls on the team who were willing to work hard every day at practice. Each girl had an individual goal and also a team goal,” Podolske explained.

Cross country running tests endurance and speed. This sport requires a strong mindset and passion for running. Running long distances on stable ground is hard enough, but doing it on unstable terrain is even more challenging. Every season is different, training plans change and the team gets tougher through it. 

Junior Ana Weaver describes what they do as a team to prepare and how this year has been compared to past seasons, “It’s been different because we got a new training plan, and a new assistant coach and we’ve been really motivated as a team to reach our goals.”

Cross country is a widely loved sport with almost 50 girls on the team this year. With an all-female team including the head coach, girl power and a sisterhood-like bond is apparent.

Junior Abbie Garness likes being on a team with all girls and having a female coach. The team gave her someone to look up to. The girls were all super easy to build relationships with she said.

The chance to go to the state meet is no easy task as there are several schools all across Minnesota competing to qualify. Seven members on varsity and two alternates made it to state. The girls cross country team will give other schools a run for their money through the season all the way through till the finish line.

“We had a lot of highlights as a team and we were pretty much undefeated,” Weaver added.