Kennedy George
This year’s cross country season has come to an end. On November 7th, the Friends of Homer Runners held its sixteenth annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser at the Homer Elks Lodge. Then, on November 16th, the Cross Country team held its annual ice cream social at the high school. At this event, the coaches, Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Graves, handed out the MVP, MIP, and Coaches’ Awards. The MVP Awards go to the most valuable girl and boy runners on the team. This season, they were given to senior Luke Tesoriero and junior Jade Auchmoody. The MIP Awards go to the most improved players of the season. This year, they were awarded to junior Liam George and freshman McKayla Crawford. Both of these awards are designated by the team; the Coaches’ Awards, however, are picked by Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Graves. This year’s recipients were senior Nikea Ulrich and sophomore Griffin Langhans.
When asked how, in his opinion, the season went, Mr. Baldwin replied that he thought it was great that the girls had a full team this year. He said that the girls won three out of five meets this season and managed to place at multiple invitationals. He also mentioned the accomplishments of Jade Auchmoody and how excited he was that she qualified for states. The boys had a large team, which was good because he feels that it is important to include many students in the sport. He was also enthusiastic about the amount of improvement he saw in the boys’ team this year. Mr. Baldwin also mentioned that he was glad that the majority of the team attended the Lime Hollow cleanup. The students participated in the event to thank Lime Hollow for allowing the team to use its trails for practices and home meets. When asked about his experience with the cleanup, runner Liam George answered, “I had fun.” The 2012 season was an overall success.
