Both the boys and girls cross country teams had great seasons. One runner made it to states. At the state championships, Randy Nieva, a junior, ran a 5k in 18.02 minutes, placing 144th overall out of 287 participants. The girls sophomore team placed second at Staten Island Borough Championships and second in their division at City Championships which was on November 4th. The boys freshman-sophomore team also won second at Borough Championships, a promising new future for Cross Country with such talented underclassmen. One freshman in particular, Riley Tefft, reigns as the girl’s freshman borough champion in the 5k.
In addition to a rise in team placements, both girls and boys teams saw an increase in number, a feat that is hard to do in a sport as difficult as cross country. Last year, the girl’s roster consisted of 16 runners, and the boys had 18. This year, the boys’ roster totaled 24 runners, and the girls 26. This increase in the roster has not ever occurred in the time Curtis has had Cross Country teams, mainly because of the stigma that remains around the work ethic. One member of the girls team, Mercedes Johnson, a sophomore, gave her perspective on this general avoidance of the sport, “people are deterred from it because they are scared of the effort it takes.” Despite this, members of the track team can agree that it builds character. As a senior, Shirley Ramirez Perez said, “I feel like it was worth it to those who want to put in the effort,” and this perspective is shared amongst the other runners.
Mr. Aguinaldo, who teaches Physical and Health Education, started coaching the girls team this year. When asked how he approached coaching Cross country for the first time, he said, “I wanted to approach it in a way where I’m creating motivation within the team versus me trying to motivate them,” and the results have definitely proven to be satisfactory. Despite previously being in need of student participation, cross country looks to be one of the more prosperous Curtis sports after a very active season.
