Both the boys and girls varsity cross country teams look to improve on last year’s success in the 2013-2014 season by training together at practice and in the offseason, in order to climb up the conference charts this season.

Headed by Coach Mark Snell and assistant coaches Mr. Justin and Dave Smith, the boys cross country team is attempting to develop and learn from last season’s struggles and triumphs. The team is hoping to finish fifth or higher in the conference rankings.

Coach Snell pushed the racers to practice in during their vacation. “Train in the summer and do lots of summer mileage,” Coach Snell told the runners. The summer training program consisted of running 6-8 miles a day, practicing hill work, and periodically going on runs up to 12 miles in length.

The majority of the boys team consists of sophomores. “The future looks bright,” Snell said. As well as promising underclassmen, the team currently has two talented senior runners in Andy Renier and Jay Biwer. Both Renier and Biwer have favorable chances at being awarded all-conference runners this Fall.

The BSM girls’ cross country team, led by head coach Casey Hanson and assistant coach Mr. Jim Wander, expect to gain on last season’s accomplishments and success this year. The team finished seventh in the conference last season, but with the help of both returning and new runners, the girls’ cross country team is headed in the right direction.

In order to improve on last season, the girls are working hard at practice because when the team becomes capable of finishing well in a race as a whole, they show improvement and gain a better shot at success in the race. “We have been working on getting the girls paired up with the right person to push them in practice and races, and also trying to run the pack (team) closer together towards the front of the race,” Coach Hanson said.

The girl cross country team is led by captains senior Sammy Rude, senior Annie White, and junior Maggie Conry. This group of leaders assist in keeping the team a positive and energized squad. One runner to watch for this season is sophomore Mae Fullerton, who has placed in every race the team has participated in so far this season.

“The entire 51 roster is our key to success; each person plays an important role. We have a great group and this is the deepest team we have had since I have been coaching. We are able to switch runners from Varsity to Junior Varsity and not worry about having that fall off,” Coach Hanson said.