The boys varsity cross country team experienced the climax of their season at the Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, Nov 6 where they competed against several other teams for the state title. The race is famously held at the speedway due to its sheer size and space for competitors, as the States venue needs to host thousands of runners across divisions 1-4.

The publicity and importance surrounding the meet and venue changes the atmosphere for the runners- it’s more competitive, more serious, more intense than other races they have competed in. According to the team, this is where everything is on the line, and what everyone has trained for all season long.

“Being with my teammates at the meet made me forget about the competitiveness of the meet or what was at stake,” Brendan Downey ‘23 said. “Our team is one tight-knit family, and it was a privilege being able to run with all my teammates at the biggest meet in the state.”

Downey competed in the states race for his team, and has been a major factor this season in helping South qualify for states for the first time in a long time. The cross country team performed well at most of their meets, rarely placing below fifth place, securing them a spot at the speedway.

“I went to states and supported my team even though I wasn’t running, and I was so proud of them for not just putting in the work to get there but for actually showing out when it counts,” Tommy Caulfield ‘24 said. “We didn’t take home a trophy but we ran hard.”

Although South didn’t take first in the meet, some glory was found when Logan Detwiler ‘23 qualified for all-state and finished 24th overall with a time of 15:53. All members of the team should be proud of accomplishing more this season than any other boys cross country team South has had in recent history.

“This season was especially fun,” Colin Burke ‘23 said. “It was good to get back into running competitive races, having fun team moments and travelling around with the guys. It’s really awesome that we get to enjoy ourselves and still be a really good team. I think everyone is really proud of the job we did this year, and is already excited for next year.”