Brooke Pan (V)
The girls’ cross country team is looking forward to a promising season. Led by captains Nicole Vanasse (VI) and Alina Irvine (V), the team is off to a great start with the varsity team placing third overall in the Ocean State Invitational.
The team’s main goal for this season is to qualify for the Meet of Champions—a highly competitive meet which admits only the top two teams from each division.
To achieve this goal, Coach Grant’s priority is for the team to stay healthy.
“If everybody’s healthy at the end of the season, I think we’ve got a very good opportunity to win,” he said.
Reflecting on last year’s season, Coach Grant is thrilled by the addition of five new freshmen, a refreshing increase from last year. With a bigger team, Coach Grant is excited for the possibilities that new freshmen will present for the team.
Irvine (V) expanded on this idea, emphasizing the role of individual and team improvement: “It is the most rewarding thing for a runner to see that all of their hardwork and dedication paid off when they run a personal record.”
Irvine hopes that “consistent, hard-effort training,” while still “giving each girl a chance to recover,” will enable each runner to achieve her goals.