The girls Cross Country team is one of many sports at Oakdale High School. Coach Brian Dempsey and the team have been participating in practices and meets this fall season.

He was an assistant coach for the boys Cross Country team when the head coach position for the girls team became available: “I really wanted to be a head coach again so I switched over to the girls program,” Dempsey explains. He then took the spot and became the head coach of the team.

Cross Country practices are every 6 days; they will typically stay in Oakdale’s Track and Field area but Coach Dempsey explains, “We try to go off campus two days a week.”

Students who are participating or joining cross country should expect to train 3-4 practices per week and back down for 2 of them. Coach Dempsey mentions, “It is a really hard sport.” It is an endurance of physical activities for students, and allows them to train hard for the meets.

Meets are held every weekend on Saturdays. Dempsey shares, “Most of the meets are close to Frederick, but we go to a couple of big meets in Howard County and Baltimore.” Meets are an opportunity for cross country to show how hard they have worked and compete against other students.

Senior Kayla Brightman has been a part of the team for three years now. She voiced, “I wanted to try running because I did track and I loved it, so I wanted to try cross country to see how that went.”

Brightman vocalizes that her favorite part of Cross Country is: “The team. There’s like a big bond, like a really big family.” Through sports at Oakdale High, students can develop a strong friend group to enjoy being with.

With tough practices and hard training, it can lead to winning meets and even winning state meets. The state meet is held at Hereford High School according to Coach Dempsey.

The State meet is filled with many schools throughout Maryland and before making it to States, “The team has to be in the top seven at Regionals,” according to Coach Dempsey. Their hard work can lead to outstanding performances at the State Meet.

The girls cross country team is a big part of Oakdale’s Athletics. Coach Dempsey shares, “It is a great sport to work on your cardio and to learn commitment and dedication. It is also a great sport to do in the Fall to prepare you for your Winter and Spring sports.”