- Samo girls lead the pack at South Bay (photo courtesy of dyestat.com)
Danny Karel
Staff Writer
Only four meets into the season, the Samo girls’ cross-country team already appears to be brimming with potential. With the graduation of last year’s varsity seniors, a surprising number of the available varsity slots have been filled by freshman, who have already proved themselves fully capable and ready for the long haul ahead.
“We have a very young team this year,” coach Tania Fischer said. “We have three freshman girls running for varsity.”
The effect of having three freshmen on the varsity team seems to be having a positive impact on the rest of the girls, as times have improved significantly this year from past years.
“The faster, younger girls coming in as a group set high standards for the rest of the team,” Fischer said.
Senior leadership comes from captain Amanda Botfeld, whose performances as a junior last year set her apart.
After their first two races where the team was unfortunately divided between grade levels, the varsity team was finally able to pull off a cooperative win at their first league meet at Kenneth Hahn park. They placed first, beating the Beverly Hills girls’ team, which has been a long-standing rival of the Lady Vikings.
With many big meets in the near future, the girls’ team continues to train hard and push itself towards a successful season.
To contact this writer, e-mail: dkarel@thesamohi.com