The girls cross country team is going to state for the fourth consecutive year. The state meet will take place this Saturday, with boys at noon and girls following at 2:30 p.m. The meet is at The Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. 

The gates will open at 9:30 a.m. and the entry fee is $15. The meet will also be streamed on IHSAA also for $15. 

“It feels amazing to make it to state again this year,” cross country runner Sami Elomari said, “We have worked so hard all season and losing our seniors last year took some of our top seven runners, so we had to work hard to get to state and were unsure if we would make it this year.”

“I am super happy for the team,” senior cross country runner Maddie Rocchio said, “We’ve made it every year since I was a freshman, so it’s kind of an expectation now, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting.” 

The team worked hard all year to get to the point where they are now, but with state coming up, they have to do some extra preparation. 

“This year to prepare for state we are focusing on pack running, injury prevention measures and running with confidence and hearts,” Elomari said.

“We’re not really doing anything differently, mostly just cutting down our mileage a little bit this week and doing some more recovery stuff with the trainers,” Rocchio said. 

The team has high hopes for the state meet. 

“My hopes and predictions for the state meet are that we place in the top three and all can perform at our best,” Elomari said. 

“Our main goal from day one of practice was to obviously be on the podium again,” Rocchio said, “We were fifth my freshman and junior years, so I’m really hoping we place higher up in the top five, which I think is doable.” 

After months of preparation for this meet, hopefully the team can bring home the gold. Be sure to cheer on your Panthers this weekend as they take on the state championship.