This fall sports season, the varsity boys cross country team represented The Gregory School at the state championship on November 4th. This was in addition to varsity runner Chloe Lamb, who is the first TGS varsity girls runner to have qualified for State in six years. 

This has been an extraordinary year for the TGS cross country team, which continues to practice together occasionally despite the season’s conclusion several weeks ago. The team was led by junior captain Jaxon Maher, who has been a member of the cross country program at The Gregory School since his freshman year. 

Jaxon recalls the program’s humble beginnings, with only three runners the year he joined. Since then, the cross country team has grown significantly, enough to race as a varsity boys team. The runners for the varsity boys team at State: Jaxon Maher, Logan Hubble, Quinn Dehnert, Braden Lockaby, Emil de Bruijn Yepiz, and Silas Leypoldt, each achieved a PR this season and made significant individual improvements. Unfortunately, senior Emil Jiralerspong sustained an injury earlier in the season, but still accompanied the team to the state meet.

When asked about his favorite memory from the season, Jaxon recalled “...hanging out in the hotel in Phoenix before the state championships. Just messing around, getting ready for [the] race.” It's evident that the team is extremely close and that the team members are good friends in addition to being teammates. 

In terms of next season, Jaxon has some ambitious goals for the team and himself as an athlete. He explained, “I'd like to win our regional race… and my goal individually: I would like to be top three in the region. And at state I'd like to be in the top 20. So that's like 16 minutes. That's like, 5:10 per mile for like three miles. So it's pretty quick.” Jaxon is very clearly a dedicated and competitive runner, but the TGS cross country program has more takeaways than just racing.

For junior Emil de Bruijn Yepiz, running cross country is about a healthy lifestyle. He explains, “...you learn a lot about yourself while you're running. It makes you tougher mentally, and you improve a lot. You feel better throughout the day.” 

The TGS cross country program welcomes anyone wanting to get involved with running. Jaxon recommends that prospective cross country runners “just run once a week, twice a week, whatever, just easy runs. Bring some of your friends, and then you already know once you start you'll [be more prepared for practices].” 

We hope to see the sport continue to grow at TGS and look forward to more people finding the joy in being a part of the cross country community.