This Saturday, the Jesuit High School Marauders will strive to acquire the section title in cross country at 12:00 p.m. at Willow Hills Reservoir Course. The Marauders finished first in the qualifying round, but they will need to pick up the pace to earn a spot in the state meet.

“Our varsity guys really just cruised through,” said Assistant Coach Nick Lai. “They got first place just by cruising. Really it was just a tempo effort to make sure they qualified to see if we can take a section title this Saturday.”

The runners’ success this year is attributed to their effort and the hard work that they put into training. What sets Jesuit cross country apart from other programs is the excellent coaching, led by Head Coach Walt Lange with Assistant Coaches David Zielke, Tom Witzgall ‘98, and Nick Lai.

“[Head Coach Walt Lange is] always on top of anything that’s new. He adjusts what he does to the runners that we have. He’s just extremely knowledgeable about the sport,” Mr. Lai said.

The Jesuit runners have a special connection with each other that directly affects the outcome of this seemingly individual sport.

“It is more of an individual sport than other sports, but I think you have to rely on your teammates more in this sport than others because if one person doesn’t do their job, the whole team is affected,” said runner Brendan Jones ‘17.

Through the time they have spent together as a team and as students, the runners have refined their Jesuit experience.

“I started cross country before I started going to Jesuit, so I knew these guys going in. It just kind of shaped my experience being on this team,” said runner Matthew Sickman ‘16. “I think that cross country has changed my experience for the better.”

In order to make the state competition, it is imperative that the Marauders train hard and place high in the section meet this Saturday.