The Cardinal Newman Cross Country Team finished up a strong and memorable 2019 season. They ran strong at at Dyer Park, South Country, Carlin Park, and Tradewinds Park. Both the boys and girls cross country teams excelled this year, placing in the top five at Dyer Park, where most of their meets occurred.

Cross country is no walk in the park, though. The team practiced everyday after school from 3-5:30, with a mile warm-up, a mile of ins and outs, and either a 5-mile long run or a track interval workout. Practices ended with a mile cool down and weight lifting.

Senior Andrea Turner, one of Cardinal Newman’s top runners, finished up her last season by making it to Districts and placing 17th out of 110 girls. Turned advanced to Regionals, placing 42nd out of 150 girls. She is one of the fastest girl runners—beating out all of Jupiter’s cross country team. Andrea placed second individually at the second meet of the season with an impressive PR of 21 minutes and 12 seconds at Dyer Park on October 10, 2019.

“I’ve been running cross country for the past four years, and this has been one of my favorite seasons”, says Turner. “Our team is very young, and we had a lot of new runners this year. Everyone trained really hard and improved so much, so I think next year will be even more successful!”

Junior Alex Brawley, another top runner, finished his season with an amazing PR of 19 minutes and 10 seconds at Dyer Park on September 25, 2019.

“We will come back stronger than ever,” says Brawley.

The cross country team has put their blood, sweat, and tears into this past season and it is reflected in their incredible grit and resilience through rain, sleet, and shine. They persevered and made it a successful season, filled with laughs, tears, and lasting friendships.

Sophomore Grace Donath says, “It was a great season. Although challenging, everyone worked hard to support each other and improve themselves this season”