As the fall sports season starts to wind down, both the boys and the girls cross-country teams are having great success, however both still have more they want to accomplish before this year ends.

The boys team won the Suburban East Conference on Tuesday, Oct. 11th. Coach Suzanne Person, who has been coaching cross-country for eleven years, is pleased about the team’s success after losing key members.

“We graduated five of the top seven guys last year, and so I didn’t think we’d be as good as we are this year,” Person said.

She partly accredits the success to this year’s sophomores, who have really stepped it up from when they were freshmen last year: Daniel Lloyd, Chad Chapnick, Zach Levens, Luke Song and Drew Hutchens, who is one of the top runners in his age group.

“I’m looking forward to the Clayton invite meet on Friday,” says Hutchens. “[And] Our district meet next Saturday and if we place first or second we will get to compete at state.”

If Ladue wins districts, it will be the fourth year in a row of accomplishing this feat. Person’s major goal to end the season with trophy at state, and a top four finish.

She appreciates the growth of the team, a total of forty-five members, up from twenty-five, when she started coaching.

“With success, more kids come out, and so that’s great,” Person said.

A leading factor of the squad’s success is Cody Medler, senior captain of the team. Medler has over six years of experience in the sport, starting in middle school.

“I started running in sixth grade with Read Write and Run at the middle school, and then did eighth grade track and cross country, but I wasn’t very good. Then I did it in high school and have just been [running] pretty much every day, with the exception of Sundays and the off week you get at the end of a season.”

The Independence that cross-country brings, in that the runner determines their own outcome, lures Cody into the sport. In cross-country, a runner competes against them self, and only they can fully influence if they improve or not.

“I have no one else to blame, except for myself if I hit a bad time. It’s great character building,” Medler said.  “To improve in this sport you have to be dedicated. You can’t half commit.”

Medler competed in a 3-mile run at an Illinois meet in early October and finished with the time of 15:31. It was his best event so far this season.

“I’m going for first in state,” Medler said. “There’s a lot of fast guys out there but if the conditions are right, I definitively have a shot at it.”

Medler’s 26th overall finish at state last year, a place that missed an “all-state” title by one place, has been fueling him throughout the year.

Like the boys team, the girls are also having a successful year. One of the top runners and second year captain, senior Emily Warner said that the team is really looking forward to state in November.

“We have been working all year towards it,” Warner said.

The team is hungry for a districts title after losing to MICDS last year by one point.

Warner likes the aspect of drive and determination in cross-country and that the sport includes a large physical aspect, in addition to a vital mental part too.

“It’s not about how much playing time you get or how good you are with a specific skill, but it is all about how far you can push yourself both physically and mentally,” Warner said.

Warner also appreciates the feeling of success that comes with the hard work.

“It’s definitely one of the most physically demanding sports, so when you improve it is really a great feeling,” Warner said.

As the season winds down, both teams are doing well and have more to achieve, including, more meets, districts, and state just around the corner.