By: Alaina Bayer

The Bellbrook High School Girls’ Cross Country team is officially state-bound, turning last season’s obstacles into this year’s ultimate victory.

After winning districts last season and advancing to the regional meet, the Golden Eagles unfortunately just missed qualifying for the state championship as a full team; however, they sent two individual runners to represent Bellbrook. That close call served as fuel throughout the season. Entering this year with a strong and sharper focus, the team set out with a clear goal: get the team to state.

The path towards state this season has had its obstacles. “Since a lot of us on the team have been battling injury this season, we’ve really been trying to stay healthy and finish strong, so we’ve been doing lots of injury prevention all year,” junior Elsie Bruckart said. According to the Dayton Daily News, “Last year was disappointing, so it feels good to come back after an injury and win here,” senior Allison High said.

Beyond physical preparation, the Golden Eagles have focused heavily on team chemistry and getting their mentalities in the right place for the final stretch. “We’ve just been trying to enjoy the last week we have together (a lot of the girls are seniors this year) by doing some fun team bonding activities, and just trying to take some of the stress and pressure off of it all,” Bruckart shared.

That bond and resilience that the team has formed has paid off, setting up the team to compete on the biggest stage. “This year I think all of us just went in with a much clearer and more determined goal to compete well at State because of how narrowly we missed qualifying as a team last year,” Bruckart said.