The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League, commonly known as WPIAL, has long been on the minds of Beaver’s cross country team. Hosted at California University of Pennsylvania October 25, 104 boys and girls teams compete to determine which teams—or individuals—make States, which is held at Hershey.

The competition is split into three sections, A, AA and AAA. Beaver Area’s teams compete in the AA section. However, there’s a catch: only the top eight runners of each boys and girls team can be listed to race, seven actually run the race, and the top five are counted in scoring.

The top three teams and top 20 individual runners in each section and gender move on to States.

Confident yet nervous attitudes are prominent as the runners looked towards the meet.

“We’re going to give it our best shot and hopefully beat an extra team or two,” said senior Sean Livingston.

“I’m hoping the team will do well [October 25], but there’s no telling what will actually happen!” commented junior Bailey O’Leary.

Senior Lucas Klenovich took a more philosophical approach to his WPIAL prediction.

“I think the results of [the meet] rest upon our own personal will to succeed. If we don’t look at the negative data, and run an amazing race on a personal level, we might place.”

Livingston, along with other team members, stressed the role of teamwork and support for their fellow runners, stating, “Teamwork is a big part [of cross country]. We’ve all been running pretty similar times, so we can all encourage each other during races.”

That support that the team shares for one another brings a sense of unity and gratification, which therefore makes the meets much more enjoyable.

“The constant motivation from both sides [boys and girls] helps to make practices more fun, and it makes the meets more valuable knowing that your team is cheering you on,” junior Sarah Gido said with optimism.

October 25, the girls team runs at 1:30 p.m., and the boys team runs at 3:45 p.m. Look for results in the next ECHO.