This season, the BSM girls’ cross country team aims for not only successful races but also to become a close-knit team that focuses on their core values of friendship, respect, and hard work.

The seniors this year are particularly focused on leadership to propel their team. For the first time, the senior captains, Sarah Kinney, Kailyn Pederson, Meagan Steck and Isabel Fleming are going through a leadership training program. Through this program, the captains set goals for the team and meet every other Friday morning to discuss their progress. By completing this course, the team strives to achieve greater goals than ever before. “As a team, we are focused on becoming the best runners we individually can to better the team as a whole,” Steck said.

Along with the leadership sessions, the team also sets clear to goals of more strenuous workouts and eliminating laziness, in order to drive their performance. “Every race, our coaches talk to us about specific goals––getting in the top 10, going at a certain pace, etc. These specific goals and achievable goals push us a lot,” Kinney said.

However, accomplishing these goals is not an easy task. “Mental toughness is another focus of this season as we get further into our training… To reach our goals, our team is placing importance on being present and being positive, uplifting each other to become the best we can,” Kinney said.

The team is recovering from the loss of many seniors last year including captains Kylie Nevells, Sammi Tarnowski and Tracy Renier. “Tracy Renier was our top runner, and we could always count on her for fast times … All the other graduated seniors brought so much spirit and fun to the team, so it’s really weird not having them here,” Kinney said.

Yet, they hope to gain talent in the form of younger runners. Junior Abigail Swanson and sophomore Sage Waymire-Rozman are often at the front of the pack. The team also has a strong group of junior high runners to help push them to the top. “It’s really exciting to see such young members on the team with such passion for the sport,” Steck said.

The team is very excited for the season and all the new memories to be made. “Our team always ends up getting very close over many pasta parties and inside jokes,” Kinney said.