Facing a plethora of injuries, the cross country team have been working hard to recover and bounce back by working together to finish out the remainder of the season strong.
During this season, multiple runners were injured.
“A lot of guys on the varsity team were injured. In our first display, we had at least five guys on the varsity team that were having a hard time going forward,” cross country team captain Aidan Kearns said.
For some runners, these injuries have greatly impacted their season, including cross country team captain Justin Stauffer, who is currently recovering from a foot injury.
“Last year I twisted my ankle which had me out for about a week,” Stauffer said, “but my goal is just to be the best I can be and help the other guys reach their goals.”
According to boys cross country coach Jimmy Stevenson, the cross country team has grown from their injuries.
“I think some of these injuries sometimes can make guys stronger mentally,” Stevenson said. “You get stronger through the challenging things you go through and I’m hopeful that’s been the case with a handful of our guys as well.”
According to Stevenson, this sense of unity is vital to the team’s character.
“We have a great group of guys,” Stevenson said. “Our team is built on a strong foundation of humility and selflessness under the roof of brotherhood.”
Stauffer said that the team’s dynamics also helps them find success.
“I think as a team we’ve come together. We want to try to win our league championship, the first one ever,” Stauffer said.
According to Stevenson, the team is aiming to reach the state championships and possibly the national level.
“We’re hoping to win a league championship and fight for a district title and punch our ticket to states; something that Souderton has not done in history for cross country as a team,” Stevenson said.
A big meet that the team participates in each year is the Twilight Invitational, which was held on October 7.
Teams travel from all over the state to participate on Souderton’s Halloween-themed course.
“Twilight’s one of our big meets. We always want to protect our house and get the victory,” Stevenson said.
This year, Souderton cross country managed to do just that, with the boys varsity team taking home the invite victory on the back of personal best times from several runners.
“It’s just a marquee day for the boys to see them win Twilight at home,” Stevenson said. “What we saw today was about 30 or more guys grinding almost two-plus dozen [personal records.] So definitely a memorable day here at Twilight.”
The cross-country team brought home the gold at the Suburban One League Championship at Lehigh University on October 20.
