Since beginning their 2013 season in early August, the Mount Vernon Varsity Cross Country team has seen great improvements, both as individuals and a group. With coaches, Senor Farry and Mr. Piligian, the team of about 30 runners is one of Mount Vernonโs largest and most diverse ever.
All grades are represented on the team: freshman, Chris Smith, has started incredibly strong, running as fast as the teamโs most seasoned upperclassmen.
The team and coaches put an immense amount of work and time into ensuring success. Team members wake up as early as six am on Saturday mornings to compete in 5K races against runners from schools across Georgia, and attend rigorous practices five days a week to work on building and balancing speed and endurance for these races. The Mustang runners have been performing remarkably well in meets this year. Since starting the season, the team has made large strides in meeting both personal and team goals set at the beginning of the season. All runners have seen great improvements, and found themselves able to run farther and faster than ever before as the season has gone on. At one recent meet, 27 out of 30 runners set new personal records, with sophomore Josh Eastwood setting a new record for the team with a time of 19:38.
Mount Vernon Varsity Cross Country runners have been succeeding greatly this season, and have had a great time doing so. Senior, Emma McCarthy says that she enjoys cross country because, โItโs nice when achieving a personal goal helps your team, too.โ Sophomore, Anjana Anandkumar calls cross country, โa fun and challenging way to stay in shape.โ Through expert training from Coaches Farry and Piligian and unprecedented personal and team accomplishments, this yearโs Varsity Mustang Cross Country team has grown closer and more confident than ever, and seen important successes sure to continue through the upcoming last month of their season.
