This year Manitou Springs High School Girls Cross Country team had a strong end to their season placing as the state runner up on Nov. 2.
The teams last time qualifying for state was in 2015 when they placed 17th in the state competition, making this year the highest the girls have placed. “Being able to place in the state championship was incredible, especially when you compare it to last year where we had Elisa being the only one to even qualify,” Keyaira Moore (11) said, “all of our effort throughout the season paid off on that course.”
This year the team was determined to continue on their winning path after winning the regional competition and placing for state. “The work that went into it started with everyone showing up in June to put in the work for the mileage to create a base to go hard in August for when the real season began,” Brenna Cote (12) said, “not only did we physically put in so much work but also mentally getting up early and going into everything with a positive mindset, getting past when we didn’t believe it was possible to continue.”
Head coach Andy Sherwood has been with the team for four years and is proud of all the work the team put in this season. “This is a huge step in the right direction for the team and it is the result of many miles run by many athletes over the last four years,” Sherwood said.
The seniors on the team are grateful to have ended their season on a high note. “Deciding to run with the team this year was such an amazing experience and the team made everything worth it,” Cote said. “Everyone had such an amazing drive and attitude that created memories that I will look back on fondly.”
Next year’s returning runners are looking forward to building up from this point and to continue their success. “I am looking forward to next year, as I know we’re gonna have a strong team. The best part is that Elisa, Chloe, and I aren’t seniors; so we will be back next year for more improvement,” Moore said, “we also have a couple 8th graders that we have scoped out and freshmen with a lot of potential.”
Sherwood is confident that this is just the beginning of the team’s future success. “The girls returning are 6 of the top-7 runners. Our primary competitor, the Classical Academy, returns most of their top-7 as well,” Sherwood said, “our goal is to continue to close the gap by hard work and developing the younger runners.”
