Miles and miles of hard work, sweat, and tears finally paid off for the women’s cross country team as they brought home an undefeated 7-0 season and an IAAM championship on Oct. 30. “I knew we had a really good team coming in,” coach Robert Torres said. “We had the top eight back, and we had kids who could help immediately. I knew going in we were pretty solid. Mount De Sales was pretty good. McDonogh was good. We were really good last year as well, but the final results did not show it.” Last year’s record was 2-5.

According to Torres, the race strategy involved going out fast and closing strong. “We set the pace for the race. Everytime we ran against those teams, in the last mile, we broke them all,” Torres said.

“[After winning the championship,] I obviously felt excited. Excited for them that we could take this away,” Torres said.

Sophomore runner Faith Ensor agreed that “it was really rewarding because we had been working hard all season for it. In the beginning of the season it was difficult but in the end it was really good.”

The team not only won the IAAM championship meet, but also finished the season undefeated at 7-0.

Senior captain Alex Gromacki said, “I think [the season] went great. Ever since the beginning, I knew we were going to be really strong. We have only been going up from there. When we won, it was such a great feeling. All the hard work throughout the season paid off.”

Torres said that senior Kristen Kohles was “no doubt the leader.” Torres also said that senior Taylor Hoch surprised him a lot this year. “Alex [Gromacki] and Ellie [Marindin] also made a big jump from where they were last year,” Torres said.

According to Torres, there is a lot of talent coming back next year. “We have Adria [Pirozzi], Ellie [Marindin], Holly [Driver], and Faith [Ensor] coming back next year.” They will have to replace seniors Amanda Spaeth, Kristen Kohles, and Alex Gromacki, all of whom were in the top five for the team.

“It will be rough I think. With Ellie [Marindin], Holly [Driver], and Adria [Pirozzi] I think they can do well though. If they focus, I think they will do well,” Gromacki said.

“Overall the season was awesome,” Torres said. “This was easily one of the best teams we ever had.”

JC also won the DC-MD Private School State Championships. Coverage of the win will be coming soon.

Cole Alban is the Online Chief for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.