Members of the BK Cross Country Team.
Written By: Aubree McCarthy
On September 15th, Bishop Kelly’s girls and boys varsity cross-country teams headed east to Twin Falls for the Dani Bates cross-country meet. The boys team was heading into the race ranked first for 4A boys. This race was hopefully going to be like their preview for state, with many of their 4A competitors attending the meet. There are 38 teams in total from all areas of Idaho, which was more teams than expected because many races around the state were canceled.
The team left just after their first class on Friday. The atmosphere on the bus felt pretty calm yet exciting, the feeling of the upcoming race not quite setting in yet. Everyone was enjoying themselves, including Natasha D’Souza who stated that her favorite part of the bus ride was playing Among Us with the whole team. After the two-hour drive, everyone stepped out of the bus to find out that all of races had been delayed. The team waited in the tent, braiding hair and chatting. Much of the team discussed Bishop Kelly’s Charlie Goss and his ranking of first place for the boys varsity race. When asking him how he felt before the race about this position, he said that he feels “a lot of pressure and like he has a target on his back, but he will use that as motivation.” He states that so far this season he “has sort of had a mixed bag.” In his first race, The Jimmy Driscoll, it did not go as he had hoped, but then he had a good race at the next meet (Caldwell Twilight). He says that he would just like to be as consistent as possible through this season.
The weather was very hot during the races, and the course was completely grass with little to no shade. Warming up for the varsity race, the girls team knew that they would just have to run as best as they could, no matter the conditions. The 5k race started off quick and then eventually everyone began setting into their pace. The race went around two one and a half mile loops and then one hairpin turn into the finish.
After the girls race, the boys were ready at the start line. As soon as the gun went off, the whole Bishop Kelly team took off. They knew they could win this race if everyone ran as well as they could. Isaac Edwards started out in the lead for the boys team, however positions changed numerous times throughout the race. Going into the finish, the pace was quick, and the competition was close. Charlie Goss won with a first place time of 16.22.41, his competitor from Owyhee just one second behind him. The rest of the boys came in with the spots 19, 20, 21, 30, 50 and 57. With the top five runners, the team’s score totaled 83 points. Points in cross country are calculated by the sum of a teams first five runners placement in the race. Just when the boys thought they’d won the race, they came to find a runner from Idaho Falls’ got his score entered after he ran without a number. They ended up getting second place overall. But spirits were raised when the team grabbed some Chick-fil-A on their way back home.
The Bishop Kelly Newspaper 