Cross Country Program Growth & Qualification for CIF!
Photo taken by : Victor Onofre | Cross Country Varsity Girls coming together before their practice!
In the summer on June 23, 2025 was when the Cross Country program first started, and was arranged by coaches, Mr. Anaya and Ms. Kopecky, who both had a goal to recruit as many athletes as they possibly could. In the first few weeks of cross-country practices, Mr. Anaya and Ms. Kopecky found it quite troublesome, as only 3-5 students consistently showed up. They still didn’t lose hope and stayed motivated with their current group of students, as they believed that over time, they would recruit more and more people.
The program soon began to grow as their group of 3-5 students quickly turned into 10-15 students, and it was this progress that kept both coaches believing that this was the start of something more special than just running.
Once school started, that’s when more athletes started to join, and that little group of 10-15 students rapidly turned into 25-35. As the season progressed, students continued to come out and give cross country a chance. The girls' cross country team quickly grew and put in a ton of work and effort, going as far as scoring 2nd place in their second league meet, which then qualified them for CIF. Girls' cross country last qualified for CIF 15 years ago, and this was something that neither Mr. Anaya nor Ms. Kopecky had anticipated, but they were immensely proud of all of them for working so hard. Most girls in cross country only just started this year, so qualifying for CIF was surprising to them, and it wasn’t an initial thought for many of them.
The season ended with 50 students, which, for a sport like cross country, has only had similar growth back in 2011. Both the Coaches and students have played an important role in recruiting others, but neither of the coaches could’ve thought that cross country would be so successful in both people and sport.
Cross country itself is a mental sport that’s mainly known for just running, but isn’t as acknowledged as other sports are, and Mr. Anaya says, “I feel like sometimes cross country in the name itself, people don't really recognize what this sport is all about.”
Cross country creates a safe environment for all athletes, where everyone is always motivating one another, making sure everyone is having fun, and respecting each other so they don't feel pressured into overworking themselves. There is competitiveness in cross-country, but even competitors are extremely supportive. In an interview, Mr. Anaya said, “All these other runners that we meet are super cool people, always motivating each other, motivating us even though we’re the opposition.” Athletes in Cross country put in a ton of effort trying to exceed their limits and they can gradually see their growth over time through their numbers and times. Cross country creates a special team bond between all athletes, and before their meets, the coaches always set up a pre-race dinner where all cross country athletes are invited to go eat with the team a day before their race.
Photo taken by : Victor Onofre | Captains Delayla Perez and Maddison Lee
Maddison Lee and Delayla Perez are the girls' cross-country captains, and they both felt that it was the entire team, Mr. Anaya, and Ms. Kopecky, that had kept them motivated throughout the season and as captains.
In an interview about if the team felt encouraged by one another, Maddison shared, “The teams really good about like helping each other out like whether or not we're racing they're always like really motivated to help each other out and like me as Captain I try to do my best to always encourage my teammates because I know how it feels to not have anyone else helping me so I don't want them to have that feeling.”
Both captains are thoughtful when it comes to the team, they make sure that everybody is comfortable and acknowledged.
