From the summer all the way up to the final States race on Nov. 2, 2024, hosted on Maui, the Radford Cross Country team has had a long yet successful season. The boy’s varsity team placed first in Westerns, second in the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA), and fourth in the state. The girl’s varsity team placed third in Westerns, first in the OIA, and earned the state champions title. Off the race course, they worked hard during practices and built tight bonds with each other.
Senior Reese Distelzweig, the girl’s team captain, placed in the top 20 in the OIA. Reese explained that the girls had spent time together inside and outside of practice allowing them to form bonds. During practice, they encourage each other and push one another to do things they never thought they could. Winning OIA’s was a gateway for states as it boosted their attitudes and helped them realize what they were capable of. When states occurred the girls earned the title of state champions.
“Being able to win states as a senior meant the world, especially with this group of girls,” Reese expressed.
Senior Weston Gussenhoven is the boys team captain. Weston placed individually in the top 20 in OIA’s. What he likes most about the sport is the community of people and friends that came out of it. He expressed that during practice they support and encourage one another to keep going even on the difficult days. Weston revealed that the results from OIA’s showed the boys that they still had a lot of competition. Being one of the top 5 teams in the state, he said, “It felt good and it took a lot of work, our team definitely trained a lot in the off-season”.
The cross country team has built its own sense of community and a strong team dynamic. Their dynamic comes from being able to encourage one another on the bad days and celebrating together on the good days. Alongside their tight bonds, coach Elizabeth Patton and coach Tyler Sissel have created resilient athletes. During the off-season, they will continue to work and prepare for other sports and the next season.