Loss of seniors means new runners in spotlight.

South Eugene cross country is back and ready for more this season. After placing eighth in the 2023 state championship, the men’s team is back for redemption, introducing a brand new varsity lineup for the 2024 season. 

Last season five out of the seven varsity boys were seniors, and they were accompanied by a sophomore and a freshman. This makeup made for a good 2023 season but it also leaves the team with less than 30 percent of their varsity lineup this season. This is an issue that every team at South faces in years when there is a big senior contingent of skilled, experienced athletes. However, for the men’s cross country team, this wasn’t a concern going into the 2024 season, as they now have a starting lineup made of mostly underclassmen, a scenario that is typically unheard of, but that makes for a nice run of years with athletes growing and progressing together.

Sophomore Yosuke Shibata started out his high school career as a standout star on varsity last season. Shibata was the only freshman on varsity during the 2023 cross country season. He rapidly ran up the ranks in the group, and by the end of the season he was easily one of the fastest runners on the team. 

“It was definitely an interesting thing to have my first high school sport be on varsity because the vibe was way different than middle school,” Shibata said. “Everyone was working really hard, and I think that helped to push me to be faster.” 

Shibata highlighted a key requirement when it comes to rebuilding a program after losing starters: hard work. Junior Tejas Sanghvi also shared this perspective. 

“We thought it was going to be worse this year, but a bunch of people actually stepped up and it’s been nice,” Sanghvi said. 

It is true that every program will face the challenge of losing senior athletes; but the true difference-maker in the following season is how hard the younger athletes are willing to work. It’s clear that South’s cross country team is willing to put in the effort.

Article by Maggie McMillen