The girls cross country team continued the streak of bringing home the all-league champions title last Thursday, making this year the fourth year in a row and fourth in Eudora history.
The meet, at Wyandotte County Park in Bonner Springs, and its competition from several other Frontier League schools was one of apprehension, head coach Jim Barnard said.
The Cardinals had not competed against some of the schools at the meet in over a month, leaving the girls in the dark about what to expect. During the meet, the girls found out firsthand how other schools such as Baldwin, a competitor Eudora always keeps an eye on, had been improving their speeds.
Sophomore Hanna Keltner finished first and is the Frontier League champion. While the most recent achievement of all-league champ is a title Keltner doesn’t take lightly, she wants the team to use this win to motivate them into the upcoming state competition.
“It feels amazing to earn the title of league champs again,” Keltner said. “ It gives a boost of confidence to our team as we head into the state meet. The main contributor to our win was our team culture.”
Whether it be pushing teammates to get better or laughing off the field for moral support, Keltner couldn’t wish for a better team to compete alongside, even when they are forced to listen to her stories on the benefits of drinking her iconic cherry juice.
Many of Keltner’s teammates would agree the team’s culture is a major contributor to their success. Junior Sydney Owens, the Frontier League runner-up,echoes this praise of a healthy team environment.
“We have an amazing group of girls that is always there to lift each other up and push each other to be the best they can be,” she said.
The taste of success now is quite familiar to many of the Cardinals on the team. Winning all-league is an important step for the season, but the team knows to have sights set higher for themselves this year, Barnard said.
“It was nice to check this box for us and get this done,” he said. “All the girls are already focused on what comes next: making sure they secure a place at state.”
The training regimen now is to work on speed without overworking the legs that got the girls to this point.
“Nothing is handed to us as a team. On paper, it may say that we’re supposed to win a meet, but that really means nothing. We have to show up and run our best. Nothing is ever given. It’s always earned,” Owens said.
Keltner is looking forward to the chance to run at state with her girls, hoping for the first time to break 19 minutes at regionals.
“I will continue to train hard with the girls I love, and drink my cherry juice,” she said.
Cross country regionals are Saturday at the Baldwin Golf Course.
Reach reporter William Crow at [email protected].
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