By Cameron Hill

Tempe Prep High School Cross country is in full swing under Doc Hickernell’s 20th season of coaching. The team has been practicing hard to get ready for the season and they are ready to compete to get to state.

Since the beginning of the cross country season, the team has battled the heat. With afternoon practices regularly in the 100-degree range, the cross country team has to make sure to stay safe. Coach Doc said, “The body can cool itself as long as you drink lots of water.” Coach Doc said the team has been “running in the heat to get accustomed to it.” These afternoon practices have helped get them prepared for when the running counts.

Coach Doc is very excited for the new season to really kick into gear. He said his goal for this season is “to run and have fun. This is always my goal.” He is looking to lead a talented cross country team to another successful season and the team has many runners who could go to state. Coach Doc said as long as they keep focusing on the present and what is next, success will follow.

The team has already had success in the few meets they have had so far. At their meet on Sept. 11, 5 different Tempe Prep runners achieved medals. Furthermore, at their meet on Sept. 18, the girls’ team placed an impressive second place. The boys placed seventh at the meet but showed a lot of heart and effort. If these performances continue there should be no doubt that some Tempe Prep runners will make state.

One of the promising runners who medaled at the meet on Sept. 11 is sophomore Zack McIntyre. Zack has done cross country since 6th grade and is an avid runner who does track and field as well. All this hard work is paying off and Zack has become an incredibly talented runner. His main event is the 5k and he runs a very strong 19:25 minute race. His main goals for this season are “to run at state again and break my personal record.” He is very likely to reach state again and he shared some of his keys to success in long-distance running. He said that “You get what you put into running,” and followed that up by saying “If you stop whenever it starts to hurt or when you get tired, you won’t get better,” and later said, “The most important part of long-distance running is to just keep going.” This attitude of just keep going embodies the spirit of long-distance running and leads to great success in the sport.

The team had great success last year and junior Anna Melis attributes some of this success to the good luck brought on by the ceramic chickens. One of the traditions established by last year’s cross country team was that at each meet the team would give a fake, ceramic chicken to one of the Tempe Prep coaches. Anna said this tradition developed one day when “I and Sama [Allam] went to the Goodwill near school on a half-day and bought an ugly rooster.” They later brought this ugly rooster to the next cross country meet and according to Anna, “Everyone did well and it became a good luck charm.” Anna and Sama soon began “giving a chicken each meet to a coach,” and over the course of the season, ended up buying every ceramic chicken in the Goodwill.

Anna said they will try to bring the tradition back this year but, since the Goodwill no longer has any chickens, the cross country team may need a new good luck charm. With how the team looks this year, they don’t need a good luck charm.

Middle School Cross Country Battles Small Numbers to Succeed

Tempe Prep middle school cross country is also underway. They have about half the amount of people the high school team has. Some may see this as a disadvantage but the middle school team instead is using this as an opportunity to form closer bonds together. Coach Maria Arana said that “The size of the team is not an issue,” and that “The shared experience of a challenging workout allows the team to come together.”

The middle school team has been training hard and is looking to have a strong season. Coach Arana said their keys to success this season are to “believe in yourself, challenge yourself and learn from your mistakes.” This advice is sure to lead the Knights to victory. Coach Arana further said that her goals for the season are for “all the athletes to finish the season strong and proud of their effort and accomplishments.” With a small but mighty team under the leadership of Coach Arana, the Knights’ middle school cross country team should easily surpass its goals.