The Bear River Cross Country Team was looking to run through Sections.

This year, Cross Country runners experienced a strong season and sprinted through the finish lines in competitions. Despite the challenge of a demanding, long-distance sport, Bruins said they were happy with how the year has turned out so far. The Varsity Lady Bruins moved on after sub-sections while the Boys Varsity Team Captain Camden Criesco made 34th Place at States. Criesco said he ran his second-best time ever.

Criesco, a senior, explained how he helps his teammates.

“Well, I just try to run quick,” he said. “I’m also the team captain for the boys side. I try to help keep things in order and be inspirational.”

Bruins also said Cross Country is a great friend-building sport. They said the team gets very close with each other. Many said support is a constant theme.

Freshman Runner Elaina Wargala, who is very happy doing Cross Country, said she has had a thrilling time meeting new people. She said her teammates help her face intimidating tasks.

“It makes you push yourself because running is hard,” Wargala explained. “It’s just amazing and just a really good experience, like friendship-wise, and just getting good exercise in and being healthy.”

Some runners are committed because it’s a family sport and have been raised around it. Several described a fun atmosphere with team-building activities.

Sophomore Runner Sean Cullers discussed the sport with enthusiasm.

“Everyone’s really nice,” Cullers said. “I’ve been doing Cross Country since 4th grade and it’s probably the most difficult sport out there. Last season we ran like 550 miles in the course of 5 months.”

The amount of team building and support coming from the Cross Country team seems to affect all the players. They described how much they appreciate the experience, especially because of the difficulty level of the sport.

Brekyn Vasquez, Coach Kevin Vasquez’s son and a sophomore runner, talked about how difficult the sport really is.

“It is a very difficult sport,” Vasquez said. “Not a lot of people know how hard it is, but just running everyday — not many people just run for a workout. Like we run seven miles in a day.”

Vasquez shared his favorite thing about Cross Country.

“The team,” he said. “You get really close with them because your doing hard workouts with them and you’re with each other for five days out of the week.”