Alumni athletes Tommy Rice and Tesfaye Young were some of the fastest runners in GlenOak Cross Country history. When the season ended last November, it left athletes and coaches alike focused on what the next season would look like without the two front runners.

“Anytime you lose runners with the talent of the top two from last year it will have a big impact on a team,”  boys cross country coach Bryan Krosse said.  “However I felt confident that the returning runners would fill the void.” 

After the promising group of freshmen that joined the team last year, as well as the overly-adequate returning athletes, Krosse’s confidence was not unjustified. 

Though the team’s statistics were promising, this did not dismiss other aspects of Rice and Young leaving.

“I was slightly weary about the leadership of the team,” current front runner sophomore Cannan Sommers said. “Having the example to follow that Tommy and Tes were was great, but going into this season I was still feeling really confident knowing that we’re all going to be good, but also that we’re not going to have our front runners anymore, and that’s okay.” 

This year, the team had to adapt in ways they had not previously.

“Mindset definitely,” varsity runner junior Ryan Bridenthal said. “We all have very similar times, so we just can’t rely on those two guys up front anymore.”

They also had to workshop their strategy.

“Instead of just everyone moving up, we all squish together now. We’ve really focused on our pack and making it super strong,” Sommers said.

Losing teammates, especially those that were at the caliber of Rice and Young is always hard, however, the team has flourished with their results, as well as with dedication, relationships and love for the sport. All the boys involved have made amazing progress as athletes over this season 

“I am extremely proud of how hard the guys have worked and how dedicated they were during the summer,” Krosse said.

In last week’s competition at Thomas Worthington High School in Columbus the varsity team placed second out of over 50 teams. 

This season, the team continues to dominate competition, with a current record of one-hundred wins and eight losses, proving to their competitors that GlenOak is a force to be reckoned with.