By Esaias Gonzalez
Rye High School’s boys and girls cross country teams are off to impressive starts this year, despite fielding rosters filled with young runners.
With only three seniors on each team, the younger athletes have stepped up, fully buying into the team’s approach to running and embracing their roles in it. “We’ve got a young team, but their level of commitment is remarkable,” said Blair Moynahan, head coach of the girls team. “The underclassmen come to practice every day ready to put in the work, and that’s what’s driving us forward.”
Junior Lily Oberbannscheidt has emerged as the top runner on the girls team with a personal best of 19:16.20 in the 5K and a fourth-place finish at the local League 2D Championship Meet on Oct. 9. Senior Clayton Starks leads the boys squad, with a personal 5K best of 17:08.90; he secured himself a third-place finish in the boys event at the same league meet.
Both the girl and boy runners have embraced a “collective competitive mentality,” with everyone striving to improve as a team rather than relying on standout performances from just two or three athletes. “The competition within the team is making us all better,” said Bryan Johnson, head coach of the boys squad. “We don’t have one person making a big leap – we’re all improving together.” The top five to seven spots on each team are still interchangeable, with the high level of internal competition fueling individual improvement.
Such an approach has helped the teams with their early schedules, which they stacked with challenging meets. “Our team is getting stronger with each race,” Moynahan said. “The camaraderie and the way they’ve [the older runners] embraced the new runners have been amazing to watch. We’re excited for what’s ahead.”
Oberbannscheidt led the girls to a fifth-place team finish Oct. 26 in the Varsity B division of the Westchester County Cross Country Championships, placing ninth herself among individual runners that day. Both squads raced in the Section 1 Championships on Nov. 9 at Bowdoin Park in Dutchess County.