By Zoe Evans ’17 | Staff Writer 

Girls cross country had their biggest victory of the season with a score of 45 at regionals in Metro Beach on Friday. The team’s top seven varsity runners moved on to the state finals on Saturday.

Captain Anna Piccione ’16 felt that this win was not luck but a combination of effort and hard work.

“This season our team has been really strong, we have been working really hard to minimize the gaps and use each other to push ourselves,” Piccione said. “I think we have surprised some people who weren’t expecting us to do well.”

This was the team’s 14th straight regional title, and there were 77 new personal best times. There were 19 other teams there, the top contenders being South, Troy, Stevenson, and North, according to Coach Steven Zaranek.

Zaranek is pleased but not surprised with the team’s efforts.

“We were expected to win,” Zaranek said. “We won the meet based on our team depth. This has always been our strong point.”

The team is ranked 15th in the state out of 150 other Division 1 programs. However, the varsity ranking list for Saturday’s state finals only goes up to 27.  

In anticipation for the state finals, the team is prepared to run their best to continue 30-0 streak for the year. With this being one of the best seasons in 37 years, a MAC Red Division Championship, and four major invitational titles, the varsity runners are keeping focused.

“We are going to have to work hard, but we are ready to give it our all and see what we can do, getting as close to a top ten finish as we can,” Piccione said.