Nikki Morgan

The Advocate

The Mt. Hood men’s and women’s cross country teams have this weekend off before heading to the NWAACC championships in Seattle Nov. 13.

During the Southern Region eventt this week, the men came in third and the women came in fourth. The team has 19 runners this season on the two squads.

“This is my second year [competing] and I hope to improve for the next event,” cross country running Kari Stapish said.

With only one event left, the team has set its goals for the championship meet.
“We want to place in the top five; coming in third or fourth would be great,” head coach Tony Baracco said. “We need to keep up the momentum we’ve had all year and keep improving.”

Each week the team practices to improve their skills and improve their placement in events.

“We have a great camaraderie within the team and strong people. We are doing much better now then at the beginning of the season and we just need more experience, but we will mature as a group over the next year,” Baracco said.