In 46 years of Trinity Prep athletics, many great athletes and teams have come and gone. Athletes like Brian Butler, Will Proctor, Eric Wilbur and Max Moroff have made a lasting impact. The 2013 cross country team will be one that is remembered for a long time.
As the season comes under way, the team is ranked third in the nation among schools in the smaller school size. After being moved up to the 2A conference this past year, there is nothing holding this team back from the possibility of a state championship.
Despite the team’s high ranking, the runners are not letting themselves become star struck.
“We may be a high rank [in the] preseason, but you can›t judge anything based on rankings,” said junior runner Tristan Rhodes. “As we have learned many times, anything can happen come race day.”
The team has also recently been ranked number two in the “Super Six” for the state of Florida. This ranking includes schools from 1A to 8A in all of Florida. The expectations just keep getting higher for this team, but the team is determined not to let the press get to them.
“It kind of feels like we have a target on our backs,” senior runner Parker Place said “Now we really have to prove ourselves.”
Earning the ranking was not easy, it required hard work and dedication.
A daily routine cross country practice will start with a slow 1-2 mile warm up, and then either a workout or a long run off-campus run. After a workout, the team will also do a slow 1-2 mile cool down run. The younger guys on the team usually run anywhere from 6-8 miles and the older guys do 7-10 on a typical day. After the team runs, they usually do stretches and a core workout.
The hard work doesn’t stop when summer rolls around. While most of the other students were sleeping and relaxing this summer, the Saints cross country team was running and working out almost everyday.
Senior runner Sam Milson says, “This summer I ran around 850 miles plus some swimming, working out, and a little bit of biking.”
In fact the team was actually doing more running this summer than they did last summer. In order to reach the level of success the team wants to achieve, the top runners upped their weekly mileage this summer to 55 miles in 6 days, as opposed to the 45-50 they did last year in 7 days according to senior Parker Place.
All of this hard work is going toward the ultimate goal of a state championship.
“This year, our main focus is to win states. Everything we do up until November 9th will be to achieve that one goal,” Milson said.
The team will certainly feel the loss of last year’s top runner, Daniel Salas, who is now running at Dartmouth College.
“It is always hard to make up for the loss of a runner as talented as Daniel, but I believe we are going to do great this year despite the loss,” Milson said.
The team is not worried about the loss though.
Sophomore runner, Jesse Milson said, “Daniel was obviously a big part of this team but we›ve all had the privilege of training with some amazing runners and looking up to them throughout the years as leaders. They taught us how to lead this team, and now everyone has to step up to help fill the role.”
With the loss of Salas, the number one runner spot was left open. But it’s a different year, and with a different year comes a different approach. Last year the team relied on Daniel as the number one runner every race. This year, anyone could be the number one runner on any given day.
Although everyone wants to win, that is not the best part of being on this team, according to the runners.
“The guys on the team is absolutely the best part. This team is definitely a special one, and I know that I am going to be friends with these guys for the rest of my life. I love every single one of them.” said Jesse Milson.
After preparing all summer, now the real work starts for the team; achieving the ultimate goal and winning the State championship for the Saints.
