Cross country faced a harder course, rainy conditions, copious amounts of mud and chilly temperatures at state in Shawnee on October 26.

“We had some bad luck,” said sophomore Ryan McLaughlin, who placed 11th out of 167 other boys. Despite the hardships, the team did better than it had ever done, moving up four spots from their 15th place last year, placing 11th out of the 21 teams in the 4A division.

“Not everybody, including me, ran their best race, but we still got up there to the state championships,” said senior Trevor Witherspoon, who placed 49th.

“I’m very proud of the team,” Witherspoon said. He said the team was more motivated this year.

“We started doing morning practices, staying healthy, stretching, and taking care of ourselves as a team.”

The team managed to get to state by placing 4th place out of 15 teams. The top seven teams in Regionals going to state. Both Witherspoon and McLaughlin got into the top 15 runners.

“Next year, we should be able to do better,” McLaughlin said. “Ultimate goal is for the team to get in top three at state.”