Middle school cross country teams are a great way to get involved and to prepare for high school running. Many local middle schools have started these after school programs over the past few years. Westridge’s team is coached by the former Shawnee Mission West cross country coach, Carl Owczarzak. Owczarzak teaches the runners the fundamentals of how to race and how to prepare for the meets. In the past year more and more kids have joined the team, improving the team’s ability for success.
“Westridge’s program used to be small, but it’s grow quickly over the past few years. The talent shows a lot of hope for the upcoming years.” said varsity runner Jacob Thomas.
In 2008 and 2009, Thomas was one of only four male runners on the middle school cross country team at Westridge. His hard work and dedication has earned him a top spot on varsity this year.
(Photos courtesy of Mitzi Cooney)
