After starting their training in the middle of the summer, most of the Girls Varsity Cross Country runners’ season has come to an end.

A significant milestone for these runners was celebrating their Senior Night on Oct. 4.

For this occasion, the Girls Varsity team recognized the seniors on the team for running their final Lane home race.

The course was set with rope strung all across the Lane lawn to account for all two miles ran during the event as the girls were competing against nearly 80 people from six different schools across the city.

Gianna Trimarco, Div. 962, has been running cross country since first grade and has been part of the Lane cross country team since her freshman year.

“They had signs, posters and even decorated the course,” Trimarco said. “It was bittersweet. It is going to be sad to leave our juniors, freshmen, and sophomores.”

After completing her two miles, two-year cross country team member Johanna Bozic, Div. 951, also described her emotions about her season coming to an end.

“As much as you say you hate running, you love everyone who does it with you,” she said. “It has been such a good experience. I am so happy I did. I love it.”

The celebration was accompanied by an autumn breeze with the temperature reaching the low fifties.

“Personally, I like running in cold weather,” Trimarco said. “It is a mental spark that makes me go faster, when it is colder, because when it is muggy outside you just have that drag from all the humidity.”

Along with senior night, members of the team were still preparing themselves for the Cross Country City Championship on Oct. 13.

Seven members of the girls team were chosen to represent Lane at the competition as they participated in the 3-mile event in hopes of winning the championship.

Varsity captain Hannah Vander-Meulen, Div. 983, placed 6th in the event.

Vander-Meulen recalled the pain she endured during this championship race, but admitted that having a good attitude is an important tool to push her to keep running.

“The first mile goes by fast,” Vander-Meulen said. “It is much easier to stay relaxed because the pain hasn’t really set in yet. The second mile is always the hardest for me because a lot of people fall asleep — they don’t pay attention as much. The third mile is always the most painful, but there’s the most adrenaline.”

Another member of the seven person varsity team competing in the 3-mile race is Stephanie Suarez, Div. 961, who shared the adversity she faced running the race and also shared what helped her overcome it.

“I was always scared of three miles,” she said. “Yet, I did long runs and my training was for distance. My training group did cross every year, so they convinced me to come out and help the team.”

While looking for ways to overcome the challenges of running, members of the team share the various tactics they use to motivate themselves.

According to Trimarco, the key to a great running performance is staying strong and convincing yourself that everything will be OK.

“When you are running with other teammates, you see, you always have to say, ‘Keep it up’ and ‘Come run with me,’” Trimarco said.

Bozic also explained the mental practice she goes through to prepare for races.

“If you tell yourself you’re going slow, you are going to go slower,” Bozic said. “So you have to be extremely over-positive, and then you are going to go faster.”

With the winner of the city championship being based off the lowest score for teams, Lane Tech placed third with a score of 80 points, behind Whitney Young’s first place score of 44 and Taft’s second place score of 73.

Suarez admits the team has room for improvement as they look ahead to the State Regional Championship competition after narrowly missing second place at City by seven points.

Girls Varsity Cross Country will advance to the ISHA State Regional competition, which will take place Saturday, Oct. 20 at Washington Park. Afterwards, they will aim for the IHSA State Cross Country Championship meet Nov. 3.