As the fall sports season comes to an end the boys’ and girls’ cross country teams are finally making their way into the spotlight. 

In the past few weeks, Frankie Lynch, a captain of the boys cross country team has propelled the cross country team into the talk of the school. Lynch was nominated and later won of Runner of the Week by MileSplit MN, the leading news source for cross country and track related information in Minnesota, for his win at the September 5 meet in which he ran the 5k in 15:57. He recently also won a meet on August 30 and BSM’s home meet with a two-mile time of 9:57. “It was really fun to see myself nominated,” Frankie Lynch said.

The girls’ cross country team has also recently caught attention for its new freshman talent: Maggie Amaris. Maggie’s 5k time is 23:04 and she plans to run on the team for the next few years.  “She will later lead the team to success in the future,” senior Ava Peterson said. 

The teams believe the student body doesn’t really understand the excitement and friendship that the cross country team holds.  “It’s super fun, it’s a little tight-knit family, and you should join even if you don’t like to run,” senior Elizabeth Valley said. 

Everyone constantly supports each other, cheers for each other, and creates a positive atmosphere for everyone to thrive. The girls’ team’s favorite tradition is their “blood chant” before a race day and before the meet begins. Standing in a circle and joining in hands, they shout out their core values as a team and chant, “blood, blood, blood!” senior Laura Boase said.  

The boys’ team also has a blood chant and a top-secret pre-meet ritual, “ which is better than the girls’ rituals;” senior Walker Niebergall said.  

The individual accomplishments of the runners have led to the teams retreating from their customarily low profile. Now, they are receiving the attention they deserve. “I would love to see a student section at our races and the energy of their fans would help me to run faster,” senior Walker Niebergall said.