At the start of the year, the cross country team’s goal was to qualify runners to the state finals; it did just that. Sam Yeager and Mia Bateson both made it to the finals and both placed in the top 20. Sam ran his best race yet and came in 20th with a time of 15:52.05. During the regional race, he became the second Ranger to ever break 16 minutes; yet, he got an even better time in states. Mia also ran a phenomenal race with a time of 18:19.31. She finished her sophomore year placing 15th in states. This gave the runners all-state honors, which is exceptional for the program.

Although the boys and girls team came one place short of qualifying, head coach Ryan Schipper was pleased with the improvement he saw throughout the year.

“We saw PR’s from 33 out of 38 runners this year,” he said.

Liam Manders and Saniya Mishra both had significant improvements compared to the previous year. One of the biggest highlights of the season was when the girls team came in first place at the Cougar-Falcon Invite. The boys’ top placement was 3rd place over the course of the year. On this side, Sam Yeager, Ethan Krampe, and Parker Ludwig were all phenomenal. For the girls, Mia Bateson, Peyton Ludwig, Grace Fitzgerald, and Gwen Lamport also helped the team tremendously. 

As the next year’s coach, Schipper is really excited to watch the runners improve and watch them grow their love for cross country.

Lastly, a special thanks go out to all the seniors for their hard work and dedication to the team. Thank you to Sam Yeager, Nathan Decker, Grace Fitzgerald, Rachel Marco, and Claire Richardson.