The MSMS cross country (XC) team competed in multiple meets this season despite the COVD-19 pandemic, running the final race of this season at the State Cross Country Championships at Choctaw Trails in Clinton, Mississippi. The meet took place on Nov. 2, 2019, and the Blue Waves finished with four runners placing in the top 50.

Senior runner Bryce Harrison placed in the top five for the second year in a row, finishing third with a time of 18:06. Junior runner Dylan Griffith placed 21st with a time of 19:31 and senior Luke Bowles placed 30th with a time of 20:20. Not too far behind, juniors Carter Miller and Tsetsenka Tsogt-Erdene placed 41st and 64th, respectively.

The team placed fifth overall, despite major hindrances due to the pandemic, which some felt was a huge setback to their progress.

“We weren’t able to practice together and this was some runners’ first year in cross country,” Harrison said. “This limited what we could do in comparison to other schools. However, I think we made the most of the situation.”

“This season was not at all what I would have wanted it to be,” Miller said. “We didn’t compete at nearly as many meets this year.”

Other runners had similar feelings, but all still felt optimistic about the season.

“I felt really great,” Bowles said. “We did as well as we could given the circumstances, and I couldn’t be more proud.”

“We basically had to compete with whatever we could bring to the table since practices were overly difficult to hold and the only exercises we could do would be at home,” Miller said.

Senior runners felt that the juniors performed extremely well, despite it being their first season as part of the MSMS XC team.  The runners felt that their successes were proof of their intense training and hard work, and they created a strong team even though there weren’t many in-person interactions.

“The juniors did really well considering that they’ve had a very unconventional cross county experience,” Bowles said. “Overall, the team did very well. Fifth place didn’t come easy.”

“The first real interaction I had with any junior was at the first cross country meet and my first impression was that they’re handling [the XC season] a lot better than I was,” Harrison said. “At [the state meet], the juniors ran hard. Every attending junior got a personal record (PR).” 

As the 2020 XC season came to a close, the runners reflected on the many things they will miss about XC, the lessons they have learned while being a part of the Blue Waves team and the strong connections they have made with one another. 

“The big picture has mostly been self-progress and improvement, and I love that. I love the team and its attitude towards competition, even in our current circumstances,” Miller said. “I learned that MSMS is the place I want to be.”