Humidity does not stop the Antioch Community High School cross country team from waking up early to practice. Constant sweat dripping into their eyes keeps them motivated to qualify for All-Conference, Sectionals and State. Miles upon miles of uphill and downhill running help the team prepare for their first meet on Thursday, Aug. 28 at home.

“We have a team with a lot of strong leaders. The seniors are some of our strongest athletes ever, but the lower-classmen are keeping up with them. It has been years since we have had a runner head down to state, but as a whole we really believe in our team this year to achieve something great,” said Coach Ryan Hlinak. As 50 students take on this challenging sport, only three are graduating at the end of this year.

“Since we do not have as many seniors this year, we are definitely a young team. The future looks bright for cross country with the students that are on the team right now. Many of the freshmen are on varsity and deserve to be here,” said ACHS senior and Captain Daniel Ressler. “Practices are certainly our favorite. We are like a family because we support each other, we bond with one another and comfort every single teammate when in need.” Last season, Ressler was seconds away from placing at sectionals which would have allowed him to go to state. He cannot wait to see what his and the team’s future has in store.

Five to six days of the week, the team has different activities that test their endurance. Junior Megan Bohn said, “Our easy practices consist of three to six mile runs around town. We also do speed workouts, which are three minutes of full-running and two minutes of a slow jog. We repeat that process four to six times.” Like many sports, the upperclassmen are role models for underclassmen. Throughout practices and meets, the upperclassmen help the inexperienced cross country runners push through the pain and finish strong.

With the endorphins flowing throughout their bodies, the ACHS cross country team has a bond that is different from anything else. What other teams call a workout, is the cross country team’s sport. Running is not something they dread, it is something they live for. They live for the moments of sweat dripping into their eyes and accomplishing something that many people can’t endure. Come support your Sequoits as they run their way to victory!