SPORTS
The pace of champions
By Michael Witte and Alison Ying
A stellar PDS Girls Cross Country team rightfully remains optimistic as state championship nears.
After winning the Conference Championships for the fourth time in a row, the PDS Girls Cross Country team now looks towards the state title.
Their final meet is rapidly approaching, and Head Coach Ben Hovis is focusing on outrunning their season long rivals, Cary Academy. Hovis believes that the two schools are evenly matched. “They have a pretty young group of girls as do we.” Furthermore, both teams have already competed together twice; Cary Academy placed first in one meet, and Providence Day placed first in the other.
But Hovis is confident in his runners. “[Our] team could easily be the best team in school history, which I think says a lot for these girls because there is a strong history with the girl’s program.”
This year’s runners have exceeded previous Providence Day standards. Specifically Senior, Sam Huffman, who Hovis identifies as one of his top performers. Huffman, who joined the cross country team as a freshman, has been significantly improving for the past four years.
“She’s killin’,” Hovis laughs, “she’s rocking the times she is running.” Huffman highlights her team’s unity and determination as one of the most motivating aspects of the cross country program. “Everyone is pushing each other but we’re not competitive with each other.”
Huffman continues to play a major role in the team’s performance, yet many other girls also contribute to the success of the team. In this year alone, six girls have recorded times that are among the top twenty five best in Providence Day history.
The future of the Girls Cross Country team is ultimately bright in the eyes of Coach Hovis. He firmly believes that the team has yet to reach its full potential, despite the loss of a few key seniors at the end of last season. “The team always has very high goals for itself,” he exclaims “I don’t think that will ever change.”