By Cadyn Hollingsworth ’25
Nine consecutive NEC conference championships. More than sixty competitions won in a row. Do you know which BHS fall sport this success belongs to? Under the direction of Dave Jellerson, the girls cross country team has found substantial success, though not a seemingly equal amount of recognition.
“I think cross country is a sport that isn’t usually given a lot of attention,” described Rebecca Curley, a senior runner on the cross country team. While the accomplishment of a nine-year straight winning streak may be less known by the student body here at BHS, its effect on the team is evident to the athletes. Curley continued, “there’s definitely a certain pressure to win—you don’t want to be the one to break the streak.”
To keep their string of success, the 15 student athletes on the 2022 girls’ cross country team must dedicate a considerable amount of time to practice. With the exception of Sundays, the girls hold practice each day that there isn’t a meet. While some of their practices consist of simply running four to six miles throughout Beverly, some practices include different kinds of workouts.
When game days arrive, the team either buses to the host school or they meet at JC Phillips Estate, the BHS cross country home track by Beverly Regional Airport. Though these meets usually mean facing one other team, when they are taking place on a Saturday, it can mean facing many other schools at one time. Still, the girls’ cross country team hasn’t lost a meet of any kind in nine years.
Cross country differs from most team sports in that the athletes don’t interact while competing—they each run their own race. Despite the fact that each teammate is, in a technical sense, competing with each other, the team atmosphere is overwhelmingly positive by all accounts. “There is definitely some inner competitiveness but I think it’s actually less competitive than other teams. We’re a really tight knit team and if we pass each other during the race we’ll say ‘good job.’ You’re really racing yourself more than anything else,” explains sophomore runner Tara MacNeil. Both girls went on to describe the team environment as greatly supportive and fun. “There’s no drama or anything, it’s just a really happy place to be,” MacNeil expressed. Similarly, Curley went on to state “we’re definitely like a family, as cliche as that sounds.”
You can go support the girls’ cross country team next Wednesday, September 28th at Danvers High School. To keep up to date with the team, follow them at @bevsexc on Instagram.
Photo credit: Instagram, @bevsexc
