York High School is known for its superb runners. While the football and soccer teams have their ups and downs from season to season, one team has remained consistently strong: cross country. With an impressive amount of state meet wins, the sport is truly a school favorite.

But with a 5th place finish last year at state, the team is looking to redeem themselves with a first in state this year.

“I would say we don’t have as many superstars as we have had in the past years, but we have a solid pack of guys that run together,” said senior Alex Sepanski. “We have been working hard this year, and I definitely think we have a good shot at winning the state title this year.”

With the state meet on the horizon, running groups one to seven are training harder than ever. Their goal? To bring another state championship to York.   

“Compared to the past couple years, we have the potential to be just as successful. The only issue is that our team has been riddled with injuries,” said senior Nathan Dale. ” Myself and at least five of the top guys have had injuries of varying degree, and so it’s kind of thrown a wrench the plans. But everyone’s nearly healthy again, so we definitely could perform well in the weeks to come.”

With injuries such as shin splints, plantar fasciitis, and general illness having been problematic this year and years past, it is one of the team’s top priorities to stay healthy in the weeks before the state meet.

Only a few crucial weeks of training remain before the trip to Peoria on November 8th. With rising anticipation around school, everybody