From 1984 until 1987, Scott Cody and Jamalh Prince, the current coaches of the Cambridge Rindge and Latin cross country team, were runners for CRLS’ team themselves. Throughout their four high school cross country seasons, they worked hard with their team, fighting every last runner in front of them to hold a winning All-State title streak of three years. Their past trainings are almost identical to the ones now, and the success they had is extending to the current CRLS cross country teams: The teams are on their way to winning the Division I League Title for the first time in two years.  

At a high school cross country meet, the standard racing distance is five km, or 3.1 miles. The first 200 meters of the race is chaos, as runners try to pull ahead of the big herd at the start line. As the runners settle into place, their focus switches to maintaining a lead and passing as many runners as possible. Courses of the meets are diverse, with some being wooded areas while others are paved in a more populated area.

Senior captain of the boys cross country team Antonio Escallón elaborates on what it is like to run at a meet, saying that “it measures both your physical strength and mental strength. Races are usually won or lost depending on how the runner develops their strategy and how much pain they can endure.”

Captain of the girls cross country team, Caroline Williams ’19, says there is “a lot of young talent” on the team this year. The girls are currently focusing on beating their personal records and improving their times. Their goals are to win more meets and end the season on a high note.

The boys team is also looking ahead to a successful end of the season. Escallón thinks that the team is enthusiastic about their final few meets because of their success thus far in the season.

He said, “We are committed to the sport and all have good relationships with each other. … We are ready to compete and hopefully win the league title.” The enthusiasm for their final few meets is high.

Coaches Cody and Prince are excited to see how the season will end. Coach Prince thinks the “team is doing well; they are on their way to winning the league title—it’s a big deal, we haven’t won the league title in two years. It’s a total team effort.” Coach Cody is also proud to see “how the team is working together this year. They are really pulling for each other to succeed.”

Josh Dunbar, a senior on the boys varsity soccer team, says that having CRLS students at his soccer games can help his performance. “The energy that everyone gives pumps us up and makes us try our best,” he explains. Not many people are aware of the cross country team and their current standing. Support and positive energy can go a long way for athletes.

This piece also appears in our October 2018 edition.