With the girls team winning the conference and regional championship, and the boys placing second in the conference, cross country hopes to continue their success at the upcoming state meet.
The entire girls varsity team will advance, while the boys will send two runners, juniors Maxwell Carpenter and Alex Haight, to the next round.
Ashley and Heather Holt, freshmen twins, were not unusually nervous about running in the post-season because they had already been victorious, winning the Octoberfest invitational with identical times.
“I’m always worried about every meet, so I don’t think post-season changes my feelings about wanting to do my best,” Ashley Holt said.
While in previous races the Holts had finished extremely close to each other, Heather Holt broke away to win the individual conference and regional championship title. Six Marshall girls earned all-conference honors, three of whom (Heather Holt, Ashley Holt and Rachel McFaul) went on to earn All-Region Honors.
Now there is nothing left to do but wait.
“The biggest thing…is just to keep them motivated and make sure that they’re going to bed early tonight, getting a good night’s sleep,” assistant coach and math teacher Gabi Rangel-LaFuente said. “They’re so great right now, and there is only room to grow. For me it’s amazing, because I know this is only their freshman year, so it’s just cool to think about what they can be doing in their senior year.”
Rangel-LaFuente is a Marshall alumna who ran cross country during her time as a student.
“The biggest difference for me is just the size; it’s just how amazing it is that more kids keep coming out each year, so it’s good, it’s grown,” Rangel-Lafuente said.