Our former Boys Cross Country county champs have “Beared Down” for the highly anticipated season by already having a desirable start. With the Oakdale boys varsity team already coming home with a second place victory, the season is looking more and more promising with each coming practice. 

Lucas Shortridge, a junior in his second year of cross country, was asked to comment on what the team hopes for with this season. “We want to win states, regionals, counties and CMCs, the only real goal at the moment is to win.” 

The Oakdale girls Cross Country team has also started out with a promising season. Jane Allman, who is in her third year of girls cross country, answers that their overall goal this season goes along the same lines with what the boys hope for: “Our goal is to progressively get better as a team and hopefully win the championship meets.”

The girls team has acquired the same ranking as the boys team so far this season, with varsity also bringing home a second place title and impressing every official at the meets. Their team, although very accomplished, is on the smaller side of CC lineups in Frederick County which is the definition of strength in small numbers. 

The girls team has been described as “an extremely close set of people,” by Allman and proves they would never let the size of their team stop them from living up to the bear legacy and their own standards of achievements. 

They have a number of mottos that are constantly stated by their coaches, both Coach Lewis and Remsberg, but one notable as well as very appropriate one is “quality over quantity” which really packs a punch in motivation for the girls. 

“We eat hills for breakfast” is another powerful phrase used by girls cross country, the coaches make sure that their runners are fully inspired to do their best, even on the most difficult of runs. 

Upon asking the team what they believe their coaches coaching style is, they stated, “Both our coaches put a lot of effort into helping each individual runner, Coach Lewis mainly plans out runs and distributes the quality over quantity mindset, they are both planners.” 

The boys team on the other hand has the experience of being coached by one of Oakdale Highschool’s teachers, Mr. Lillard. He has been involved in CC and track his entire life and has been enjoying his time stepping back from course and coaching from the sidelines. 

After asking Mr. Lillard what he believed his coaching style was, he joked “I crack a whip, I’m mean and I’m absolutely intolerable.”

After jesting that he was a mean spirited coach, he turned to Kyle Lund, Senior and one of the captains of this years’ team, and says that he is the best person to ask, since Lillard has been his coach for quite some time. Lund had nothing but positive things to say when it came to his coaching style and Lillard also had nothing but positive things to say in return when asked what good qualities the team as a whole possess. 

“They train over the summer on their own which shows dedication, initiative and as far as the leaders go, we have four captians each one that brings a kind of strength to the table that helps keep the team solidified.”

Both teams are coming at the same angle, to win, and after having an impressive season last year, it is foreseeable that CC will have another very favorable season. With this, it is possible that Oakdale could be able to hang another state championship banner this year.