The Summit girls cross country team won the class 5A state championship on Nov. 4, making it the 15th year in a row that the girls have ended the season as champions.
The race took place at Lane Community College in the pouring rain. The run began at 1:45 p.m., and the girls were unsure of what the outcome would be. With a team almost entirely made up of underclassmen and over a decade of legacy to live up to, the pressure was on.
“We knew it wouldn’t be easy and that we would have to work for it,” said Summit sophomore Skye Knox.
From the start, everyone running was hunting down the leader of the pack, Crescent Valley’s Emily Wisniewski. However, in order to win, all of Summit’s runners played a very important role.
“They knew today was a blank page, and they got to decide the story that was told. They trusted each other and went for it,” said Summit Coach Kari Strang in an article by The Bulletin.
Sophomore Eva Dicharry was Summit’s first runner to reach the finish line, crossing in seventh (18:50.9), followed by Knox, who ended in 10th (19:13.2). However, if it wasn’t for Taylin Bowen in 19th (19:19.2), Elizabeth Connolly in 17th (19:41.3) and Ainsley Knox in 28th (20:33.8), the deciding 66-64 scoring wouldn’t have been in Summit’s favor.
“We were definitely the underdogs coming into this season but we all worked incredibly hard and are super proud of what we have accomplished,” said Dicharry.
