As Richwood’s Cross-Country season comes to an ends, it’s time to reflect on the journey and celebrate the seniors who led the team to success this year. Senior and four-year varsity captain Sarai Saintilus shares her thoughts on the season.
One of Sarai’s standout performances occurred on Tuesday, September 17, at a meet hosted by IVC at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, where she finished 6th out of 50 competitors, overcoming challenging hot and dusty conditions. Sarai set ambitious goals for this season, aiming for a personal record (PR) below 20 minutes and focusing on continuous improvement after each meet. To achieve this, she commits to daily practice and weekend runs.
Contrary to popular belief, cross country features one of the longest seasons in sports, with training beginning as early as May, despite the official season starting on August 31. Coach Jason Clark emphasizes the importance of separating goals from ambitions each year. He encourages his runners to push themselves, improve their speed, be good teammates, and, most importantly, have fun. By focusing on these aspects, success will naturally follow.
Coach Clark’s ambitions include getting both the boys’ and girls’ teams to advance to sectionals. He hopes to see individual runners qualify for state, which would be an incredible achievement. With strong competition on the horizon, the team is eager to see how they measure up and strives to reach a higher level of performance.
John Paul Tamer, a dedicated two-year varsity senior, was eager to see how the Regionals unfolded at Dunlap Valley Middle School. In preparation for this important event, the team intensified their practice sessions, with every member focused on improving their personal best times. For Tamer, one of the most memorable aspects of cross country is the unwavering support from both his teammates and coach. He shares, “The encouragement from the team and our coach really helps me mentally. It motivates me to push through even on days when I don’t feel like it.”
It was a very challenging regional to advance as a team, but the Knights gave it all they had on Saturday. Richwoods needed to run at a record pace to advance as a team, but ended up falling just short of their goal. However, runners Gabe Gross, Sam Swain, Annie Witte, and Sarai Saintilus all advanced to Sectionals as individuals. According to Coach Clark, this was the best boys cross-country season Richwoods has had in the past 15 years! Congratulations to the team and Coach Clark! Sectionals will be hosted at Metamora this Saturday, November 2nd. We wish the best of luck to these individuals and hope they advance to state!
