On Sunday November 6, members of the girls cross country team and junior Oliver Foley, who competed individually for the boys, participated in the MSHSL State Cross Country Meet. The meet was held at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN.

Senior Genevieve Larson, who has been running cross country for about two years, loves the team’s environment and how everyone is able to play a part in the team’s success. “Everyone really sees one another and it’s so fun to be outside and cheering each other on. Everybody gets to participate and everyone [is just] as valuable,” Larson said.

Junior Oliver Foley has also been running cross country for a couple of years and also enjoys the team demeanor. “[I love] the team aspect and [being able to] hang out with all my friends,” Foley said.

During the regular season, both teams would race at different locations. However for the State meet, teams had the opportunity to race at St. Olaf College. “I was mostly [excited for] the course because it was at St. Olaf. It was a very nice course,” Foley said.

The girls team had an amazing section finish which was what brought them to the state tournament. “I was really proud of our team. I think it was really a team effort. Everybody had a great race at sections. We had six people PR that day during the race. Everybody really gave it all they had,” Larson said.

Although the boy’s team did not advance to that State meet, Foley advanced out of sections as an individual and was able to compete at the state meet. “It felt great. [It was] what I worked for throughout the year,” Foley said.

All throughout the season, the team was working to reach their final goal, which was making it to the state. “Our team had two first place finishes and three second place finishes throughout this season, so it wasn’t unexpected because we really put in the work for the whole season. It’s never a guarantee and I think everybody proved that they were really fighting for it,” Larson said.

Despite not feeling the best going into the meet, Foley was still able to run well. “It went OK. I was coming off being sick, so I didn’t feel as great. The girls team did really well. They got eighth [place],” Foley said.

Both teams decided to put in extra work over the summer to work towards their final goal, state. “I think it really started in the summer. Everybody agreed that these were like some of the hardest workouts we’ve ever had…It was really cool that we got to train with the boys team and meet all these new people and really have a culture of working hard for it,” Larson said.