After placing fourth at states, members of the cross country team say they feel better prepared for the future of the team and have set goals for themselves to improve moving forward.

Junior Grant Morgenfeld, the only representative of the boys cross country team at states, said he gained valuable experiences from competing there.

“I didn’t meet the goals I had set, but being able to witness some great competition around me was hugely beneficial,” Morgenfeld said. “I’ve come to learn that cross country is going to have ups and downs, and it is more about how you respond to your off days.”

Morgenfeld said he plans to use the lessons he learned at states to improve his performance. 

“I feel stronger after the state meet. Every setback is an opportunity for improvement, and I believe I am better prepared to take on tougher challenges in the future,” he said. “I hope Paly as a team can take this energy, on the girls and boys side, and continue it into our upcoming track season.”

Senior girls co-captain Hillary Studdert said even though her team wanted more from the  state meet, she is proud of her individual performance.

“We came in ranked fourth and got fourth, so we came away satisfied but wanting more from the team race, especially because we placed three in the top seven,” Studdert said. “I surprised myself a lot at state and am proud of how I put it all on the line for my final high school cross-country race. I was excited to cross the line with my two teammates right there.”

Studdert also said she hopes to carry her performance over to track and field in the spring.

“I am really excited for my senior track season, and I have set big goals for myself coming into the season,” Studdert said.

Finley Craig, Studdert’s co-captain, agreed with Studdert on both topics.

“I believe we did exactly what we wanted to,” Craig said. “We all just tried to do our best with the conditions we were given and that went very well. I am feeling very excited for track. We all just got off our week-long break, and we’re getting ready for some really fun post/pre season training.”