Hard work paying off for cross country

The men’s and women’s cross-country teams have thus far enjoyed their most successful seasons in five years.

Within the last two months, the teams have placed in the top three at two major meets.

The women’s team placed second at both Cedar Crest invitational on Sept. 19 and Goldie-Beacom Invitational on Oct. 3. The men placed third at Goldie-Beacom.

“We’ve never placed at any invitational until this year,” said junior Jenn Schifano, the women’s cross-country team captain.

The amount of dedication and talent found on the team has been exceptional this season.
Six members placed in the top 25 at the Goldie-Beacom Invitational.

Last week, the team held a bake sale to try to make some extra money.

This year has produced the largest cross-country team in a long time.

With seven men and 20 women, the team is sizable and has the same budget available to them as last year.

“It’s the same money and more people,” Schifano said. “We don’t even have warm-ups.”
Similar to last year, the team plans to host a 5k run in the spring. It will be another source of fundraising and will, hopefully, serve to raise awareness that there is indeed a cross-country team at Eastern.

Every Friday at 4:30 p.m., every Friday the team holds Fun-Runs for anyone interested. “It’s one of those things a lot of people don’t think they can do,” said first-year Martha Mackey. “You compete against yourself more than anyone else.”

For sophomore Jonathan Holbert, captain for the men’s team, cross-country is more than just a college sport.

“It’s like my family,” Holbert said.

Likewise, there is a feeling that the team doesn’t always get the recognition they deserve.

“I’d like to see newer runners get enough credit as other star players from Eastern,” Schifano said.