By Ziva DeMattia and Marlee Erdreich
“I think it’s crazy how I have to explain the difference between cross country and track to every single person that wonders what I do after school,” Annabelle stated, captain of the LREI High School Varsity Cross Country team. Cross country has exactly 28 members and two coaches, Anna Gonzales and assistant coach Eli Ghannam. Although the team has many athletes, some still feel as if they’re underrepresented by the school. Compared to other sports that “get more publicity being less physically taxing, Cross County should get more credit!,” a team member, anonymously, says. She among others are seeking more school-wide attention. Unlike other teams, with easily accessible home games at Pier 40 and the Thompson Street gym, the cross country team makes a long trek to Van Cortlandt Park for every meet, the last stop on the 1 train in the Bronx. Juliet, a determined runner on the team, says, “Having meets at Van Cortlandt does not allow for friends to easily come out and support us. One notably missing aspect from cross country that we see in other sports is a live student section.” This could be one of the factors of why cross country is less recognized than sports like volleyball or soccer.
Then we asked another athlete, “As a dual athlete how do you feel about your treatment as a runner vs. as a basketball player?” She responded, “In the winter when I play basketball all my friends come to my games and I love having all the support. But when I go to Van Cortlandt to run to my meets the only person who comes is my mom, but she usually can’t make it because it’s so far from where we live,” says Aedan. “The only upside of the park is that our coach buys us carrot cake at the end, It’s really good,” adds Aedan. Clearly, one absent aspect of the outcasted sport is the lack of school participation which affects some runners’ motivation. Another issue that students seem to have about the cross country team were the uniforms. “The sweatshirts are old, the uniforms smell,” Annabelle expresses. Her resentment to the quality of the uniforms she has received for all four years she has been a part of the team is prominent in her frustration with the sport at LREI. In response to this discomfort, members of those on Cross Country are looking to make changes for the future of the team. They voiced their original ideas of how they want to feel more represented, like hosting a “homecoming cross country meet where the students could come and watch us,” says Annabelle.
With the potential for change, perhaps it’s time for the LREI community to lace up its running shoes and step out and support the cross country team, because every finish line is better crossed together.