By Rachel Levy, Reporter

(Photo by Ghadah Alotaibi)

The Shenandoah Women’s Cross Country team is regionally ranked for the first time since 2011. The poll released last week by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association put the Hornets at the number 10 spot for the South/Southeast,  and they rose one more spot this week to number nine.

Senior Shelby Shrader said she is “so proud of this team” and “knew coming into this year that it was going to be a big year.” The women only graduated one senior last spring.

Captain Alex Caljean said she has not yet “been a part of a team that’s so determined like each and everyone of them is.”  

“We’re more determined than before to achieve our goals,” she said.

Both Shrader and Caljean agree that a team goal is to place higher in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) and keep moving forward.

Head Coach Andy Marrocco is a big factor in these girls’ success.

“[He] sets up our season so that we can peak at the right time,” Shrader said.

This year, Marrocco has changed up the workout by incorporating more cross training. Caljean said that the cross training helps their “legs stay fresh and ready to go” for their workouts and longer runs.

The Hornets will be back in action this weekend, hosting the Hornet Harrier race at the Kernstown Battlefields.