At the Spiked Shoe Invitational at the Penn State Golf Courses on Sept. 8, the State High girls’ cross country team won their race by six points over University High School, a team from West Virginia. State High sophomore Devon Jackson won the 5k individual race. The State High boys’ cross country team came in second in their race just behind University High School. 

State High cross country senior Henry Adams recapped the race.

“This is probably one of our close competitive races that we do because we get to go up against a team from West Virginia. They’re University High School, this year they were ranked top 20 in the nation. It’s always a nice way to see how we stack up,” Adams explained. “The course is pretty much all downhill [except] after you loop around that flat second mile you have to go back up the first mile on an uphill.” 

This race provided competition for everyone that participated, not just the top finishers. All of the runners said similar things when asked about the toughest part of the race.

State High senior Abigail Bigger said, “Definitely the last mile.”

“Definitely trying to get yourself to run fast at the very end, that last hill,” Adams said.

At the meet it was not just high schools, but colleges as well. Although it may seem intimidating, it had an opposite effect.

“I think that helped a lot just to kind of get us in the mood, and kind of hyped,”Bigger said. 

The practice leading up to a meet is very important and many teams have different philosophies.

“The practice before a meet we usually do a short pre-meet run [of about] 25 minutes,” Bigger said.

During the week of the race, some days had very high temperatures, some of which went into the 80s and 90s. However, the weather had a minimal effect on the race. 

“I don’t think it did too much. They started an hour earlier just because there were potential thunderstorms,” Bigger said.

State High has two very talented squads this year. Looking down the road for the rest of the season, with races still to come, there are many more things for team to look forward to.

“Definitely states… It’s a really competitive team this year,” Adams said, explaining what he’s looking forward to. 

Gallery • 2 Photos

Johnny Rothrock

Senior Henry Adams runs in the Spike Shoe Invitational. He placed 18th overall in the race and 6th for State High.