This past season was a struggle for the girls cross country team. They lost their fastest runner, Jillian Parmelee, to an injury. Jillian only ran in two meets this season. This was a devastating loss to the cross country team. When asked about her injury, Jillian says, “Fracturing my hip was really hard, and having to set all of my goals for the season aside was even harder. But it was amazing getting to watch everyone from the sidelines. I really did miss chasing my goals and running right with them, but getting to support them throughout their workouts and cheering them on during meets when I would usually be racing was really special.” The team also lost another top runner, Ella Ullman, to an injury that sent her to the bench for most of the season.
Both Jillian and Ella’s absences were felt this season. Captain Sara Kaliszewski, says, “The beginning of the season brought many challenges to the team as injuries took out two of our varsity runners for the majority of the season. Despite this, the girls persevered with the J.V. runners stepping up when we needed them, making sure our team was able to score in every meet.”
Other runners also battled injuries, though they were not season ending. These injuries forced the team to run with less than seven runners for multiple meets. For those who are not familiar with cross country rules, every team submits their top seven runners to run in the varsity race. Five runners score and the sixth and seventh runners act as tie breakers if needed. The goal is to be the team with the least amount of points. The place the runner finishes in is the number of points the team receives.
Additionally, this year the team was very small. The size of the team was an issue because due to injuries sometimes the team had less than seven healthy runners. Coach Lavina Vigue further explained the challenges: “For the 2025 XC season, we began with a fairly small team of 10 athletes. Since we had a number of athletes who were in and out at different times as well as the full season athletes, the remaining team ran as varsity for each meet. This is unprecedented but had benefits for the team. With a larger squad, sometimes the athletes are afraid to run varsity and would prefer not to. I feel that the full team was willing to play their individual parts in helping the team compete to the best of their ability. The most significant part of this is that all athletes are returning next year. What we learned about how to overcome setbacks, deal with soreness and be responsible with our injuries will make the team even stronger next year.”
Despite these challenges, the girls improved immensely throughout the course of the season, with many of them achieving the goals they set in September. Coach Vigue is already looking ahead to next season. She shared, “We have the talent to finish at the top of the conference. We just need everyone to remember that they can always dig a little deeper and work a little harder when it comes to the good of the cause. Patience and dedication!”
Congratulations to the girls on their season and overcoming these setbacks! Girls Cross Country is always ready to welcome new runners. If you’ve been thinking about participating in a fall sport, consider joining the team for next year!
