With a unique team environment and mindset, the boys cross country team took home a close fourth place finish at this year’s PIAA state championship, exceeding expectations.
Last season’s journey to states ended with cross country runner Aidan Maue in the hospital due to a heat stroke.
This year, Maue focused on improving his diet to make sure what happened last year did not repeat itself.
Maue’s consistency paid off, as he placed fourth overall in the state.
“I wanted to prove to myself that I can still run my best since I had a heat stroke and passed out last year,” Maue said.
For the first time ever the team sent all seven varsity runners to states.
Last year the school sent a team that included only three runners: then-juniors Aidan Kearns, Maue and James Kuduk, all of who are now senior varsity captains.
This year they were joined by the four other varsity members: senior Lance Midboe, juniors Ben Wright and Tommy Fedesco and sophomore Stephen Keller.
The seven varsity runners made the trip along with senior varsity captain Justin Staffuer, who attended as an alternate runner, as well as their families and many members of the junior varsity team.
“Knowing that your whole team [is] there or at least your top seven varsity guys definitely made things a lot more special,” Kuduk said.
According to Kearns, he was confident going into the race about the team’s ability.
“For me, going into the race I just wanted to win the whole thing, that was my goal,” Kearns said. “I knew that we had seven guys that could go out there and win the championship.”
While the team did not place first, they still came away from their first state championship appearance with a very close fourth place finish.
“We got fourth, and the top four teams were all within 10 points of each other,” boys cross country coach Jimmy Stevenson said. “For those who don’t know the sport, that’s like four teams all being within a free throw or bucket of each other.”
Two years ago, Stevenson became head coach of the team and since then, Souderton runners have made an appearance at the state championship every year.
According to Kearns, Stevenson knows how to push the team past their limits and how doing that will help the team “reach” an ability “greater” than if they did not push themselves.
“Besides training, his personality and his mentality for himself motivates me and the rest of the guys to do better for him,” Kearns said, “to help him accomplish more for the team.”
Stevenson says that he tries to prepare the “holistic competitor” and the runner who “salivates like a dog at the opportunity to race others.”
Next year the team will lose its top three runners. However, Stenvenson is hopeful the team will continue its success because the team has a “healthy culture.”
“It’s a machine that’s well-oiled and it’s gonna keep cranking into the future,” Stevenson said. “It’s going to be challenging, but I’m hopeful that we can make it to states next year as a team.”
The team looks to continue improving. With high hopes for next year.
