In the past few years, the cross country team has expanded in size and their dedication to the sport has become very evident. The group has been inviting to the many underclassmen that populate the team and are excited to see more of this young talent. Coach Ben Dejarnette expresses how while some of the record holders and state qualifiers have now graduated, he is excited to keep developing the talent he notices with the younger runners and see everyone grow during the season.

Dejarnette also points out how much the team has grown over the eight years he’s been in the program, and how more girls have joined cross country. 

“Before, we didn’t have enough girls for a varsity team and now we have full varsity and junior varsity teams,” Dejarnette said. 

Senior captain Cecilia Hosti talks about the girls’ side of the team with pride and is impressed with the growth she has seen since her sophomore year. 

“Our team has grown a lot, two years ago we had five girls and now we have 15,” Hosti said. 

The way Hosti and the sophomore captain, Mira Shah, talk about the team’s growth and potential brings the community hope for the team, and more specifically the girl’s side. 

“We’ve been working on getting team bonding going and I’m excited for the team atmosphere,”Shah said. 

The girls captains expressed that one event they are very excited about is their Rose City invitational meet that is taking place this fall on Oct. 10. They say that they are excited about this meet because this is their home meet, and they usually get a personal record (PR) here because of the general excitement they have for the location.