On Wednesday afternoon, the cross country team competed at Memorial Park in a league meet against three other teams. La Salle, Milwaukie, and Scappoose all came to Wilsonville seeking success, but ultimately the Wildcats won both the men’s and women’s events.

For the men’s 5000 meters, senior Jack Burns came in first place with a time of 17:58. Five other Wildcats placed in the top ten as well, which helped contribute to the team’s win.

On the girls side, junior Sam Prusse finished first with a time of 20:06. In total, seven Wilsonville girls ended up in the top ten, which is an impressive achievement at a meet with four schools attending.

The outstanding results can be attributed to the hard work our runners put in every single day after school. Along with that though, the Wilsonville athletes were just having fun. Junior Kylee Rusher remarked, “Coach Barkley told us just to treat it like a practice, which was nice because most meets are super stressful!”  

It’s clear that the Wildcats are dominant in meets, even when they’re keeping it light and enjoying themselves. The team has a lot of potential, and is hoping to win districts for both the boys and the girls, according to Rusher. They also hope to place well at state, which is later on in November.

There’s a lot of running between now and November, though, and a lot more meets to compete in. Rusher mentioned having personal goals as well, stating, “I want to get back to the times I was running last year, so next meet I want to push myself to the limit.”

Junior Maddie Giese attended this week’s meet, and she noted, “It was really cool to see all the teams cheering each other on; it’s such a positive environment.” Rusher echoed these ideas, explaining that the cross country team is like a family. “This team doesn’t compare to any other sports teams out there. We get to laugh and joke around with each other while we run, and I’ve made so many good friends, considering we see each other six days a week all year round.”

The team is looking forward to next Saturday, when they compete at the Nike Portland XC Meet, which is a huge event with nationally ranked runners from around the country coming to take part. The race should be very competitive, and a great way for our athletes to prepare for districts.