Academic Center cross country teams represent WY at state finals

Zoe Davis, Editor-in-chief

The Academic Center Cross Country teams competed in the IESA state championship last weekend. The boys team repeated as state champions and the girls team placed 10th, which is the best in WY history.

“As you can imagine, it was an amazing weekend,” said coach Alan Edwards. “We’ve made it look almost easy over the past few years, but winning a state championship is an incredibly rare achievement, and I feel humbled and honored to be the coach of such great athletes and young men and women.”

The academic center boys cross country team poses with the first place plaque after winning their sectional. Courtesy of Alan Edwards.

On the boys’ side, runner Sam Rivera ‘19 finished as the state champion and is the first CPS athlete to accomplish this feat. He also set a new state record by 18 seconds.

“It’s an incredible experience to run in the state meet,” said runner Charlie Nevins ‘19, who finished 14th all-state. “You always run faster than you think you can on the state course, because you are excited and running with runners who are as fast or faster than you. It’s still difficult to believe that we are among the fastest runners in Illinois.

Runner Zyana Cabrera ‘19 finished 19th overall and is the first WY Academic Center runner to finish all-state. She also set a new school record by 19 seconds.

“It feels really exciting to run in the state meet,” said Cabrera. “Not only is it fun running at that level, but it is also exciting to know that you’re running against some of the best runners in the state.”

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The girls cross country team celebrates after placing 2nd in their sectional. Courtesy of Alan Edwards.

Before state, the Academic Center cross country teams won the Lane Tech Invite on Oct. 1 and the Niles West Invite on Oct. 4. The boys went on to win their sectional competition, and the girls were runners-up. The team will race in the CPS championships on Oct 25.

“The cross country state finals was a great experience, and it was amazing to see all the other athletes run,” said Maansey Rishi ‘20. “I feel privileged to be apart of such a motivated team with such a great coach.”