Photo by Ryan Lui
Although most of us are just now settling into the new school year, for the LCHS Cross Country Team, showtime is just around the corner-and they’re more than ready to take on the challenge.
For head coaches Andy DiConti and Nick LaCapria and team captains Ryan Van Slooten (12), Ryan Lui (10), Ethan Crane (12), Katie Scoville (12), Lynette Aslanian (12), and Kallie Rushing (12) this season provides the opportunity to push the team further than ever before.
“This year, we have new coaching staff and a new training regimen. We aim to advance as far as possible into CIF sectionals, and head on to state,” said Van Slooten.
He displayed his confidence in both himself and this year’s team when he said, “(Up to this point) I’ve learned how to address different team dynamics I’ve seen many types of runners, so I hope to be able to motivate our team this year, as it will be a pretty major contributor to our success.”
Both Van Slooten and the team aren’t all talk. They’re clearly putting in the work to achieve their goal, with two hour practices every day of the week except Sundays .
When asked about what cross country meant to him, Baz Rosas (11) said, “Although during the race, each individual person is running, there is so much teamwork put in both during and outside the race. One of my favorite parts of Cross Country is being able to push my teammates to achieve their individual bests.”.
Van Slooten added, “Unlike track, where each person is running a different event and everyone is less connected, everyone in cross country is running the same 3 miles, and there’s truly an opportunity to bond and work together to push each other that creates a competitive atmosphere that you don’t find outside of Cross Country.”
The team will have their first league meet on September 21st, but they are working hard at many events to prepare, so from all of us at The Spartan, we wish our runners the best of luck for both this event and all to come!
