Before school started, Barstow’s small but mighty cross-country team has been hard at work. Bibi Nin ‘27, Leo Karaichev ‘27, Quincy Stribling ‘27, Roland “Ro” Kaufman ‘27, and Sid Kilgore ‘27 began practicing on August 7th, and now meet every day after school from 3:45-5:15. Currently, they are wrapping up their preseason in preparation for their first meet.
“This year’s team has a lot of mental grit, perseverance, and resilience,” according to Head Coach Candice Baldwin. “They won’t back down. Everyone always talks about how hard cross-country is to do, but this team is coming out every day to practice and working hard to achieve their goals.”
While the whole team is new this year, Coach Baldwin has high hopes, saying, “I’m most looking forward to seeing the freshmen accomplish their fitness goals. They have been really apprehensive about running cross-country,” adding that, “They are putting in the work and I think they will be proud when they see the results.”
This team of five is ready to kick off the season at the Midway Meet on Wednesday, August 30th. Each day the team works to improve their stamina, with “different quality workouts, one long run, two speed workouts, and 2 easy days,” explains Coach Baldwin.
With this group, team camaraderie is especially important. Freshman Ro Kaufman joined the team because he “hadn’t tried running so would like to give it a chance.” His favorite part of practices isn’t just the practice itself, but “getting to know my teammates and having fun with them while exercising at the same time.”
While the team has yet to hold any preseason team-specific activities, the small size of the team makes it easier to bond during practice. Coach Baldwin explains, “We bond and talk while running,” and adds that “at the end of the season, we will hold a banquet.”
Given that this year’s team is an entirely new group from last year’s, things are bound to change. “Since everyone is new this year it will definitely be a learning process,” Coach Baldwin explains. “It’s been a while since I had all new people, and I usually have juniors and seniors too. So this season has been a lot of relearning the routes since not everyone lives around here.”
As the team wraps up their preseason, they look ahead to the real season itself. “I’m really looking forward to getting to know my teammates,” explains Kaufman, “and I am excited to work together, struggle together, and achieve our common goals together.”
The team’s first meet will be at Midway on Wednesday, August 30th, so be sure to wish them luck! You can find the team’s full schedule on Barstow’s website.
