The Girls Cross country team has been working hard running every day, and have been racking up wins for the Wildcats every weekend.

Every day the girls meet at 3:45 p.m. at Galbraith Field, ready to start practicing. The team has a wide variety of ages, starting from 7th graders to seniors.

“It doesn’t matter how good or bad you are at running,” senior Kelli Peters said. “Coaches Mrs. McCullagh, Mr. Tuleja, and Ms. Smith are all supportive of the you and are always there to encourage you to do your best.”

Unlike some sports, the girl’s team does something different at almost every practice. Athletes run up to five miles, but not just around campus. Recent runs have seen the girls run up Mt. Tom, to Park Hill Orchard in Easthampton, and even to the pool for swimming workouts.

“Many of the girls on the team think that the practices are challenging, but they are very beneficial in the end,” junior Isabela Warlick said.

The school wants to make improvements to the home course, which currently weaves in and out of the woods surrounding Galbraith Field.

The home course the girls are running now will be improved and will be a lot more challenging for the girls,” Mrs. McCullagh said. “The new course is more of a cross country course, there will be less pavement and more trails.”

Not only do the girls just run during practice, they incorporate different abdominal exercises, led by Ms. Smith, to strengthen their core. These grueling workouts include a series of pushups, crunches, leg-lowers, plank exercises, and what Ms. Smith calls “Pushup Pyramids.”

Senior Natalia Aquadro, one of the team captains said, “Our team is in great shape this year thanks to our wonderful coaches and teammates. We are ready for every challenge that comes our way.”