Since the middle of August, Hellgate’s cross country team has been training with one goal in mind: win state. Over the years, the Knights have had some serious competition from teams across the state such as Bozeman and Gallatin.
Last year, the Knights were able to secure a fourteen point win over Bozeman, with Gallatin two points behind Bozeman. From the start of the season, it was clear that it was going to be another close year and they were going to have to put in a lot of hard work to make it happen.
The Knights put in constant hard work everyday at practice, and it certainly paid off. Rose Wiltse, a senior on the cross country team, described her favorite moment in the season at the state meet, while the awards were being announced. “We were all standing in a circle holding hands and waiting to find out if we won. It was a really special moment and I felt so grateful for my teammates and so proud of how hard we worked this season. Then we found out we won and all the hard work had paid off!” she said.
Not only did it help to individually put in the work, but staying connected as a team and working together had a great impact on all team members. “We worked really well together in workouts and in races, which helped us run our fastest” said Wiltse, “We were also really supportive of each other which kept the motivation high.”
The Knights were able to secure a win, scoring 46 points, eight points ahead of Gallatin, who finished with 54 points. This was the third win for the Knights, and second consecutive win.
After this, the Knights are looking forward to regionals (NXR) in Boise on Nov. 11. The top two teams from this meet will automatically get a bid to nationals in December and the Knights are excited to give it their best shot and potentially advance.
