Written by Selena Zhang

With fall setting in and October in full swing, the heart of the cross country season is finally here. Over the past couple of weeks, the RCDS Cross Country team has been training hard and their results reflect their efforts. Putting in the work both in the fitness center, striding along the paths of East Campus, and powering through the hills every Friday at Crawford Park, their strong results at races reflect the dedication they have put in.

At the notoriously hill-ridden Van Cortlandt Park, many people set personal records, including William Leung ‘28 and Lila Al-Omoush ‘28 on the 1.5 mile course and Boys Varsity Captain Rhys de Haan ‘25, who ran an incredible 15:17.6 on the 2.5 mile course. Girls Varsity Captain Taeko Fueno ‘25 and Alexandra Lynch ‘27 also broke Personal Records with 19:24.3 and 19:46.2, respectively. Fueno notes her surprise with the girls team’s high placing at the meet, remarking, “the girls team even got 2nd place at the Ivy Meet last week, which was really surprising because I’ve never focused on the scores until now” and states that “Van Cortlandt has turned into my favorite course because it’s a 4k and we get Lloyd’s Carrot Cake after.” Looking to the coming weeks, she has a positive outlook and is “excited for our team to have the strongest season yet as we blaze through the courses in our pink singlets.”

Following tradition, the cross country team made their pink singlet debut for Breast Cancer Awareness Month last Tuesday at their most recent meet and took Brunswick by storm. After running their hearts out and cheering on their teammates all the way to the finish line, several freshmen, sophomores, and juniors gave touching speeches to celebrate the seniors and their last year running for RCDS on a memorable Senior Day. Head Coach Ryan Song reflects on the unity and community of the team, commenting, “although distance running has a reputation for being an individual sport, it isn’t true for RCDS. In practice and in races, we tend to run together. The size of our team has allowed a few wildcat packs to form that you can see working together during races.”

Aside from running meets, the team will be going to Edith Read Nature Center as the first group of people to help clean up the beach, as well as helping to host the RCDS Fun Run during Wildcat Weekend on October 19th. As the season progresses, the XC team is proving that hard work and unity can lead to success. Best of luck and keep it moving, Wildcats!