The Cary-Grove Cross Country season has ended, and both the boys’ and girls’ teams made progress from last year. In contrast to last year, both teams were able to make it to state, with the girls advancing as a team, and the boys’ team competing with their individual qualifier, senior Jameson Tenopir. 

The girls’ state line-up placed 17th out of 29 teams in the state. 

“We were disappointed finishing outside the top 10,” Coach Mark Anderson said. “But at the same time, five of our top seven were rookies to high school cross country, so this gives us something to fight for. If we work hard, we can be a top-three team in the next year or two.” 

The top runner on the girls’ team, sophomore Alexandra Santoyo, placed 28th with a time of 18:05.78, a new personal best for her.

The boys’ individual qualifier, Jameson Tenopir, placed 13th out of 235 with a time of 14:39.90, which is particularly impressive taking into account his recent recovery from injury. 

“It was a minor setback,” Coach Anderson said. “He had a stress reaction and just biked and did low-impact cardio, which helped him stay in shape for state.” 

Comparing his times from the start of the season to his state performance, it is clear that Tenopir recovered quickly with only a two-second difference between his season best and his state performance.

“It was great to see Jameson finally get a cross country medal,” Coach Anderson said of the four-time state runner. “It’s hard to get to state as a freshman, and I don’t know how many kids have gone to state four times. He’s the first in Cary-Grove in the boys or girls teams.”

Being a smaller school in the 3A division full of bigger and more competitive schools really hurt the team’s ability to win state or even sectionals, but the drop down to 2A last year made Cary-Grove a team that could and would compete. 

“The drop down from 3A to 2A helped with a lot of things,” Coach Anderson said. “It helped in getting kids to try cross country, because when you say you have a legitimate chance at winning state in the near future, kids sign up. It gives everyone who isn’t a football player something to try out. And it motivates kids to work both in-season and in the off-season.”

Coach Anderson is optimistic that this hard work from the cross country team will translate into better results for the track and field season, and that Cary-Grove will be able to hold its own in the 3A competition pool. 

“Now we’re back up to 3A for track, so let’s go after another state medal!”