Writer and Photographer / Keeley Miller
At the start of the season, HSE’s girls cross country team wasn’t even ranked on some polls and was barely ranked on the top 25 teams in the state on others. After the loss of two top seniors after the 2014 season, underclassmen were under pressure to step up and lead the team.
“I knew that we were going to be resetting the team after we lost a lot of the top seniors, but I knew the eighth grade girls coming in were pretty solid,” said coach Joseph Golden. ”I expected us to be competitive but not on an elite level.”
The team was led by junior Sabrina Bippus and followed close behind by freshmen Lulu Black, Maddie Mirro and Lilly Cummins. Despite their age, the varsity team proved their worth by placing tenth at the state meet Oct. 31.
“[Some of the freshmen] came in and did well from the start. Others progressed throughout the season, and that is part of the reason why we got better throughout the season. Everyone got better, but a lot of them got a lot better,” said Golden. “We went from being mildly competitive to being close to an elite team.”
After a season of growth, the girls cross country team proved that pre-season rankings wouldn’t stop them from crushing their competition after placing in every tournament meet to make their way to the state championships.
“We have three freshmen in the top five and a few more knocking on that door,” said Golden. “That group will definitely be better and be in the mix for Varsity for the next three years. They definitely have potential to run well long-term.”
