Now that the unstabilized sports seasons of last year can be put to rest, sports are back in full swing at BC and better than ever. Kicking off the school year with sports, running regularly as usual, the BC Varsity Cross-Country Team has been able to shine more than ever. The first consistently active cross country team since 2019, this season was record-breaking. To end the season off, the BC Cross Country Girls team won first place in the ACIS league, while BC’s boys managed to get second place in theirs. The season had thrived and the team couldn’t be more thrilled to see the progress they’ve made. We thought it would be useful to interview some of the runners and coaches on the team in order to gain some perspective on the season.

We spoke to Clare M. 25’, a first-year member of the Berkeley Carroll Cross Country team and the championship winner for girls. Clare expressed her motivation for running and why she thinks the team has been so successful this year:

“I really like how we’re like a close-knit team, and we’re friends and super close and I think that’s important for a team. Also, it’s nice to have a lot of faster runners that you can look up to, and be able to base yourself off of them and help you.”

In other words, when you have team members to motivate you and make you want to show up to practice, the season becomes fun and not just work. Clare also spoke about her running journey: 

“So, in the beginning, I really genuinely hated it with every cell in my body, I hated it so much, but, I started to notice how I felt after I run, and I’m genuinely so much happier and I think sometimes thinking about how I feel after a run can really help me push through it, also when you get to that point in your run where nothing hurts, and you’re just running, it’s so good.” 

Another person we interviewed is Ferris Z. ‘25. He shared his motivation for cross country and how he used it as a means to advance his skills in basketball.

“So my main sport is basketball, so I’m trying to develop more stamina for basketball, and get that speed, also just the teammates, they motivate me.” And like Clare, Ferris’ relationship with running grew over time, “Because, It’s really a sport where at first, you really hate it, but then you see the benefits, and then you start to love it.”

Finally, we got to speak to coaches Brianna and Valencia, who shared their thoughts on this year’s team and season. Brianna said, “I think we have a large team of students that are committed to coming all the time and put the work in every day.” “In general, I would say compared to past groups, we tend to be a bit more competitive as a group, than what I’ve seen in other Berkeley Carroll Cross Country teams.” Something the coaches always say is that the team needs to want to win in order to win, and that general belief system is shared among the team. Overall, the team’s main source of motivation was each other and themselves. This year’s team was extremely devoted and determined to do well in the season, and they did. The team as a whole also talked about BC’s biggest competitor in Cross Country, Packer. “Packer. Packer has historically dominated our team. However, a lot of the kids who used to dominate us were upperclassmen that have graduated, so now we’re on more level ground, and have a better opportunity at getting the top spot for boys and girls.” Though this was said by Coach Valencia, the whole team shared these same thoughts. 

To recap the season, the girls set a record and came in first place in every single race they ran. Boys also set a record and came in first place during one of the meets and stayed in the top three the entire season. Although we hoped to win Championships as a school, Packer beat us in boys but the girls remained as first place champions. We believe that this year will set a precedent for years to come to make cross country at BC more popular and to become a stronger cross country team overall. Because this was the first typical sports season since before Covid it allowed teams to re-invent themselves with new members and a new reputation. The competitiveness and camaraderie within the cross country team has allowed them to thrive and make room for growth. Hopefully the program will continue to grow, physically, skill-wise and as a community.