Girls cross country successful, looks to state

The girls cross country team ran their last home meet on Oct. 15.  Many girls achieved their best 5K times on the home course, including seniors Carson Simon (20:15), Lexi Elliot (20:37), Charlotte Folinus (20:44), and Margaret Maxwell (21:38), as well as freshman Victoria Flowers (20:15). Sophomore Delaney Graham impressed all fans, running sub-20:00 for the first time this season. Graham’s time was not only her best on the home course but her best time on the whole season.

On Oct. 10, the girls ran at the Asics Invitational and placed third in the championship division. They raced against some of the best runners in the state, not only in AAA, but in all classifications. Five girls broke the sacred mark of 20 minutes: Folinus, Maxwell, Simon, Graham, and Flowers. Graham came in first for the Cats with an 18:59, followed by Flowers at 19:16, Maxwell at 19:17, Folinus at 19:37, and Simon at 19:41. Elliott came in sixth for Westminster, finishing with a time of 20:37. The girls have since been ranked tenth in the state of Georgia among all classifications in the state of Georgia. In AAA, the girls are ranked number one, ahead of the Cats’ archrival, Blessed Trinity.

Unfortunately, freshman runner Naima Turbes was forced to pull out of the race, but the Cats hope to get her back toward the end of the season.

“[Turbes] was racing with the faster girls, so we’re very excited about having her come back,” said head coach Amy Eubanks.

The girls have improved tremendously over the course of the season.

“If you look at our times from our meet [on Oct. 15], they’re two to three minutes faster on the home course, so we’re progressing nicely and we are where we want to be right now,” said Eubanks.

An important part of cross country is leadership, and Eubanks thinks the captains of the team have done a great job this season. The seniors, along with the captains, provide essential leadership that helps bring the team closer together.

“It’s fun to see that, as a coach, to watch the seniors really take charge of the entire team,” said Eubanks.

One of the team’s captains is senior Katie McGahan. McGahan knows the challenges that the cross-country team will face at the upcoming state meet, but she is ready to face those challenges and thinks the team will do very well. Since the team has no team mom, McGahan and her fellow captains assume that role while leading the team and helping ot bring the TrailCats closer together. The captains plan all of the team’s pasta dinners, “Fun Fridays,” and all of the other activities the team does throughout the season. One of those activities included an ice cream truck party for the whole team. The girls also collectively painted a banner together in support of girls cross country.

“The captains aren’t the only leaders on the team,” said McGahan. “All of the seniors are.”

The team’s slogan is “Sisterhood.” With 120 girls on the team this year, the captains and seniors have to make sure everyone knows that they are part of a team.

“Usually, people see cross country as an individual sport, because you’re running by yourself, but when you run you know that you’ve got your teammates to push you through it,” said McGahan. “That’s where ‘Sisterhood’ comes from.”

McGahan loves getting to run with her teammates and meeting new people every year and enjoys participating in her sister group, “the Scooby Dudes,” one of many small, organized sub-groups of girls that stretches together after practice and plans fun social events throughout the season.

“The people in cross country are why I run,” said McGahan.

The freshmen are welcomed onto the girls cross country team with open arms.

“It’s been really fun,” said freshman Marion Kronauge. “All the upperclassmen are really nice and really welcoming and it’s really cool to get to meet different people.”

Kronauge says that she runs for the social component and also the competitiveness. She competes to the best of her ability, but also has fun with her friends. Kronauge also runs cross country in order to get in shape for basketball season in the winter.

Eubanks only wants the best for her girls, but she, along with the rest of the team, have high hopes in the realm of future competition.

“I hope to see them have their best performances at state,” said Eubanks.