This year, the PV cross country team is looking toward a great season after the end of the longest cross country state appearance streak out of any team in Iowa.
The first meet of the season, for many, can be a great way to tell if a team is going to have a good chance at qualifying for state. This year at the Spartan Challenge the varsity team placed fourth, the junior varsity team placed eighth and the freshman/sophomore team placed second.
Sophomore Matthew Sargent won first place in the freshman/sophomore race with a time of 16:57 for the 5k, approximately five minutes and 25 seconds per mile. This is a great sign for the team’s future.
The team’s strong debut shares their goals for the season. “My hope for the team this year is that we have a strong start to the season by showing that we are a top 10-team in the state in our first meet. We did that at the Spartan Challenge by finishing fourth place in a field of 18 teams. Seven teams entered the meet ranked ahead of us. It was a strong debut for our varsity squad,” said Coach Erik Belby.
In comparison to last year, this performance was much better. Last year, JV was eighth, freshman/sophomore was third and varsity was seventh. This improved performance by the team gives hope for qualifying for state this year. “Our team needs to focus on progressing from one week to another. Our training is designed to build strength and I feel like we are doing that” said Belby.
Last season, the team had many athletes who were either injured or sick throughout the season. “We need to stay healthy and toe the line at the end of October ready to perform at our highest level,” said Coach Belby, referencing the fall MAC conference meet, district meet and state meet.
The runners are also confident for their future races and optimistic they will continue to improve.“I think we are going to just keep getting better and better as the season goes on and might even be in contention for a state title,” said sophomore Matthew Sargent. He will be on the varsity lineup for the next race.
The cross country team has great potential and confidence that this season, they will find success and see growth.
