The LHS boys and girls cross country teams both had successful performances at the competition on Tuesday, Oct. 2, at the Lakewood County Forest Preserve in Wauconda. The boys team beat Lake Forest but lost to Lake Zurich while the girls team beat out both Lake Forest and Lake Zurich.

“Lake Zurich continues to go down as a team downstate, and [the boys] were up to the challenge. It was a tough course, and they competed,” stated Mr. Stuart Mendelsohn, head coach of the boys team.

Despite losing to Lake Zurich, Coach Mendelsohn expressed pride on how they performed at the meet and believes that the team has become stronger in spite of this loss.

“I think the biggest improvement is that they bonded more as a team, whereas in the past, we had a very fast individual that would always help the team by winning every race,” he said. “…I think that what I was hoping for was every individual, one through seven, had bonded, and they all push each other.”

While the boys continue to improve with the hopes of competing at the state competition, the girls are putting forth their best effort as well. Payton Golwas, a senior runner for the girls team, stated that “so far this year, I think the girls have gotten more confident with racing and kind of knowing their paces and what they’re capable of. So I think everyone is kind of turning it on since it’s the last couple weeks of the season.”

Both teams will continue to practice, attempt to better themselves and compete at meets until the end of the season, with the state championship on Saturday, Nov. 3, set in their sights. The girls team’s next competition is at Adler Park on Tuesday, Oct. 9, and the next dual meet is the NSC Championship on Saturday, Oct. 13.