The varsity cross country girls placed third at the University Interscholastic League state meet Nov. 3, and but they still have at least one more race ahead of them.

The girls will run next Saturday, Nov. 17, at the Nike National Qualifiers. If they place second or third, they then will advance to the nationals in Portland, Oregon where they will run the meet Dec. 1.  But, before the season began, their coach said they had a plan for success.

From goal-setting to setting PRs

“This summer we set our goals to be on the medal stand at the state meet,” coach Jennifer Gegogeine said. “And we saw that out. It was a really exciting moment for all of us because it was something that we had dreamed about doing.”

Senior Madison Christy, along with three other girls, accomplished their own personal records during the race.

“We got third, which is not what we were going for, but it was still really exciting,” Christy said. “We got to go on the stand to get our medals, and that was super rewarding.”

The girls won first place in both the UIL District 9 and Region II meets in October. After a send-off from students and teachers, the girls were off to state, where they took third overall.

“Overall, I was super proud of all the girls,” junior Tatum Castillo said. “They have put in so much work to get where they are. I am really excited to be back with the same group of girls and seeing their abilities get stronger. Our goals are still the same, as well as our expectations. So I’m really excited to be able to lead that next year.”

Pre-season ‘Why Not Us?’ goals to post-season nationals

Gegogeine said the team started the belief ‘Why Not Us?’ which symbolized their hard work and the wish of making it to state in 6A after not making it in the 5A division last year.

“It all started with that belief, and then their hard work,” Gegogeine said. “Then we went to our first meet and won. Then went to Friday Night Hawk and won. So it was almost like ‘this is working, and we’ve got this.’ They realized they could definitely do this.”

The girls now are focusing on their next race after earning the status of Nike National Qualifiers. If they place second or third, they then will advance to the Dec. 1 nationals event.

“Making it to Nike nationals would be a huge deal,” Christy said. “Nobody in our school has ever done that. I think our goal is to just get there.”

While there is not much of a run left in their season, the girls will continue to practice for next year’s races.

“It was an awesome moment,” Gegogeine said. “But  also an eye-opener to see that next year we’re going to go back, and take it all.