Running races, winning trophies, and riding rollercoasters in the rain, all while hanging out with Mickey Mouse in the greatest place on Earth.

This is how the JC cross country team spent their weekend from Oct. 6 throughOct. 9.  The runners traveled to Disney World in Orlando, Florida for The Walt Disney World Cross Country Classic.  The annual race included 768 runners from teams all over the east coast.  It has been three years since they were last able to go, but there was a possibility that cost would prevent the team from going this year.

It cost around $800 for each runner to go, so the team hosted fundraisers to raise enough money.  One of the main fundraisers was at Looney’s Bar and Pub on Sept. 29, where they raised $250. Only customers who were carrying flyers given out by the team could participate. Ten percent of their checks were donated.

The runners finally raised enough money and were off to Disney along with cross country coach Michael Monaghan.  The team raced and stayed at the ESPN Allstar Arena, just outside of the Disney parks.

The race took place on Oct. 7.  The course was nice according to senior Taylor Battaglia.  “I liked the course because it was completely flat and the weather was not too hot during my race,” Battaglia said.

Senior Holly Cook finished big for the women’s team.  Cook came in third place and her performance earned the rank of a Dyestat US top 100 Elite performance. Senior Ben Pickett also finished in third for the boy’s team and had a top Florida Dyestat performance.  Overall the men finished in third in the 2A division, and the women finished in fifth.

Throughout the weekend, it rained off and on, but the team did not let that slow them down.   “Even though it rained the whole day Saturday, I still had a lot of fun at the parks.  It was nice because there were almost no lines by the end of the day.  I enjoyed just hanging out with everyone back at the All Star Sports Resort,” Battaglia said.

“Even with the rain we had fun at Disney. Lots of good times on the course and off,” Monaghan said.

“I think that everyone on the team became closer after being on the trip because we were with each other for four days.  In the evenings, we all spent a lot of time just hanging out and talking in our rooms,” Battaglia said.

Coach Monaghan was proud of his team.  “I want to thank everyone for being good ambassadors of John Carroll. We made it through the weekend without too much trouble,” Monaghan said.

Amanda Graziano is an Opinion Editor for the Patriot and jcpatriot.com.