The Lions’ fifth place finish at the South Jersey Group III sectional meet qualified the team for the NJSIAA Group III state meet on Nov. 11.
Never before has the Cherry Hill High School West girls cross country team competed this deep into the fall.
The Lions made history on Nov. 4 when they finished in fifth place in the South Jersey Group III sectional meet at Delsea Regional High School. The fifth-place finish allowed Cherry Hill West to advance to the NJSIAA Group III state championship meet on Nov. 11 at Holmdel Park for the first time in program history.
The accomplishment was the culmination of years of hard work for an experienced team. Four of the seven runners who competed for the Lions at sectionals are seniors. Head coach Maggie Strimel spoke highly of her seniors’ leadership and work ethic.
“They really set a good example for the rest of the team,” Strimel said.
Last year, Cherry Hill West finished a disappointing 10th place at the sectional meet. However, with the Lions returning their entire 2016 sectional lineup in 2017, the team was motivated to improve on its previous efforts.
“I knew that we had a shot and we always talked about that,” Strimel said. “We talked about it beginning last year because it was pretty much the same team.”
“We weren’t as nervous knowing we’ve done it once, twice or three times before,” senior Keller Bean said.
The Lions made a significant improvement with their teamwork. Strimel saw the team do a better job at running in packs both in workouts and during the race.
“Even during workouts, we all focused on staying together as a pack and working together,” sophomore Cammy Wright said.
“We worked more as a team than we did in past seasons,” senior Cassaundra Hoch added.
The team felt it turned a corner a few weeks before sectionals. At the Olympic Conference Championships on Oct. 20, Bean, Wright and junior Mirasha Williamson all posted times of less than 22 minutes. In the same meet the year prior, no Cherry Hill West runner finished with a time of less than 22 minutes.
At sectionals, the Lions put up another solid performance with three runners, Wright, Williamson and junior Liz Santana, posting personal best times.
Though the team was running well, none of the girls realized how well they were doing in the team standings until the end of the race.
“I had a feeling,” Wright said. “I realized a lot of the girls finished close to the top 20.”
“I was trying to count girls and trying to figure it out, but I didn’t know for sure,” Strimel added.
Hoch described the moment when the team discovered it had finished in fifth as an emotional experience.
“There was lots of crying,” she said.
The fifth-place finish at sectionals was a team effort, as the Lions managed to qualify for states despite not having a runner finish in the top 15. Bean, Wright and Williamson finished between 17th and 24th place, allowing the Lions to earn critical points in the middle of the pack.
Strimel was most proud to see four seniors, Bean, Hoch, Emily Santana and Sally Johnston, earn a spot at states in their final season.
“It makes me so happy that they made it this year, that the last race for the seniors will be at Holmdel,” Strimel said.
Strimel also hopes the Lions’ accomplishment helps students come out for the cross country team in future seasons.
