The cross country team has been working hard all summer and the beginning of the school year preparing for Rim Rock. This is the only meet this school year that allows girls on varsity to run a 5K.

“Running 5K’s in meets are so important for girls because it’s the only time that college scouts look for because college girls run farther than even a 5K in there races,” said senior Ananda Bhatia.

Cross country running, known to be a race made from nature and the land we live on as itself, is a sport that many new and old Southwest students have decided to join this 2014 cross country season. One of these students is senior Ananda Bhatia who races Varsity for Southwest.

“I first joined cross country after I moved here from California as a freshman because I really wanted to join a sport and meet friends, even though I had no athletic ability,” Ananda said “I thought everyone knows how to run so why not join.”

Ananda has been hooked ever since and will now be running her fourth and last year as a member of the team.

“You learn so much more from cross country then just running,” senior Ananda said, “because it’s purely just a mental sport; mental endurance teaches you how to stay strong, keep pushing through even though you want to give up.”

Madeline Fines also agrees with how cross country teaches you more things about life then how to just run.

“The cross country program here at Southwest helps give a student/runner a better sense of dedication and hardwork.”

Fines has been apart of the Southwest Timberwolves for three years now and will be finishing her final cross country season as a Senior.  Madeline first joined as a Sophomore and just can’t get enough.

“I first joined cross country my sophomore year after talking about it with friends in my Freshman forensics class and decided to give it a try.”

Madeline is hoping to achieve great things this 2014 season. She wants to meet a personal record  while also inspiring future runners to run their hardest. Madeline also likes cheering before a race and thinks it gives off a vibe telling other teams that: “We are a team.”

“It pumps us up and makes us look more intimidating,” Fines said.

The Cross Country season for High Schoolers does not just start at the beginning of the school year. The first Cross Country practice is held at the beginning of the summer. Runners show up from 6:30 to 8:00 AM and run long tempo runs that help build mileage for the rest of the season.

“Summer runs help eliminate injury and add mileage on the legs that will later impact the season in many different ways,” said Madeline.

Sports for many other students at Southwest is a way to become immersed into the student body and allows students to meet friends while bonding over a common subject. One of these students is Senior and Foreign exchange student Jelle Buijs.

“The reason why I joined the Cross Country team is to participate and get involved into the school communities and the reason why I joined the Cross Country team and not another team is because if you have a bad day or you mess something up you only ruin it for yourself and not the entire team,” said Jelle,“It lets you relieve pressure and not have to worry about making it onto the team because its a no cut sport.”

Jelle is an exchange student from the Netherlands and wanted to make friends while having new experiences while he is staying here for the school year. Cross Country is another good way for Freshman to try out a sport at the High School level.

“Running is my favorite sport and I love long distance runs more than anything else,” freshman Rachel Wolf said, “I want to meet a lot of cool people and make friends really fast since I moved from Michigan this summer and it’s my first year in High School.”

Rachel Wolf is hoping to do well and meet personal records while just enjoying spending time with friends. She looks forward for the next three years and is excited to be running for the Timberwolves

To learn more about the cross country team and check up on how the team is doing this season go to the BVSW homepage and find the cross country homepage where stats are posted and the calendar is located to give you dates for cross country meets.