On Wednesday, September 3, MacArthur Intermediates cross county team won first place overall, with four top finishers.  The tournament was held at McFadden Intermediate School and was coached by Math Teacher Mr. Jim Axton, P.E. teachers Mr. Patrick Evans and Mrs. Heather Mootheart, and Counselor Mr. David Diaz.

“They have trained for six weeks for this one race,” Evans said.  “Leave everything out there and when you see someone in front of you, reel them in, pass them, and keep doing that until there’s no one else to pass.”  This is a tactic that Evans recommended to the runners.

At the race, there were four top finishers, sixth-graders Sahory V. and Sebastian M., seventh-graders Mia V. and Jayden M., outside of that that eighth-graders Audry C. placed second place, and Shaun G. placed seventh.

Practices were Monday, Tuesday,  Thursday, and Friday.  For the start of practice, the team would run around the bowl one time, then go stretch at their assigned trees.  After stretching, the schedule was different every day.  For example, one day the runners would run a distance, depending on their grade, to qualify for the team until the team was made.  For sixth-graders they had to run 1 mile, the seventh graders had to run 1 mile and a half, and eighth-grade runners would have to run 2 miles.

Seventh grade Kristopher R., who placed third in the race said, “I wanted to work on my speed and be with friends. In the beginning, practice was hard, but it got easier.”

“We were worried about COVID affecting the fitness of the runner, but we also knew with the six weeks of training we would pull through, and we did.  We have an amazing team with amazing talent, I can’t wait for how they do in other sports,” said Diaz.