Seniors Cate Rossomanno and Reese Martin ran in the Class 4 state cross country race on Nov. 9 for the fourth year in a row. Rossomanno placed fifth, her second time in the top five, and Martin placed 23rd, her fourth time receiving First Team All-State.
Going into their final cross country race, both the runners wanted to do the best they could. Rossomanno said her mindset was to run as fast as she could and have fun.
“[My mindset is to] definitely try my best and have fun. Since it’s my last [cross country] race, just run as fast as I can and hopefully end on a good note. No matter what, I want to be proud of myself,” Rossomanno said.
Miller said both the qualifiers are very experienced for the state race and he is confident they will be prepared.
“It’s just another meet. Those two, Cate and Reese, are so experienced. This is both their fourth time running in this race. They should be able to temper their nerves with all of that and be excited instead. They’ve got big goals, big expectations, as do we as coaches, and I’m confident they can treat this as another race and perform well,” Miller said
Both Martin and Rossomanno have qualified for state all four of their seasons. Martin said it’s been exciting to participate in the state race every year.
“It’s really exciting and it’s just crazy that this is my last year. I feel like it’s been kind of a tradition every year to go to the state meet and I’m excited to get to go with Cate,” Martin said.
Rossomanno said it’s been a blessing to have qualified all four years.
“It’s crazy and I learned my lesson last year to be more grateful for stuff and never expect to qualify. Every single time I have it’s been a big blessing,” Rossomanno said.
Even though the team didn’t qualify for state, Miller said, he is hopeful for the following seasons.
“Falling up a little short is bittersweet but we feel good about the future because we got a lot of good experience out of this. We stood up to the challenge and we didn’t make the end mission but I feel really good about the future because of it,” he said.
