After completing a very successful and memorable season this year, every member of the DC cross country team has a reason to be proud. Led by Head Coach Dr. George (Doc) McFarland, every athlete on the squad clearly contributed to the Knights’ success and achieved significant improvement through hard work and dedication. 

With hopes for an even greater postseason success, the Knights began the 2024 season with diligent training, conditioning, and invitationals to prepare them for their season ahead. Their hard work paid off, resulting in massive blowout victories in two BAL regional meets in mid-September, where the boys placed first in the pair of races, while the girls placed first once. 

By mid-October the Knights had completed their regular season meets and began postseason competitions, beginning with the BAL Championship, where the boys squad finished third, and the girls squad finished second. As a result of outstanding effort and performance, Knights senior athletes Grant Mast, Hugh Nicholson, and Ella Clipston—along with freshman Addison Atkins— were awarded All-BAL honors.

Due to the hard work and dedication of each athlete on the DC cross country team, several players throughout the season recorded personal best score times, some by several minutes. Hence, every player improved significantly, allowing the team to establish itself as a fierce competitor to its rivals. Specifically, one individual caught the special attention of Coach McFarland: “Sophomore Caden Shute showed significant improvement over last year. He had an outstanding, breakout season.”

After the BAL Championship, the Knights had nine days to prepare themselves for the PIAA District 1A meet, where the boys finished in 5th place and the girls finished in 3rd place. As Coach McFarland commented, “The district races for both [the] boys and girls were a highlight. They were getting personal bests, just outstanding times.” 

Although every DC athlete displayed an outstanding performance in this event, one individual stood out among the others. Freshman Addison Atkins not only emerged as one of the top performers on the team this year but was the only DC cross country participant to qualify for state competitions. With the help and encouragement of her coach, Doc McFarland, Addison placed 92nd out of nearly 300 other competitors in the PIAA Division 1A State Championship. “The state meet was really amazing,” exclaims Addison. “These were the best teams in the state, so it was really cool to be able to run in a very competitive race and represent DC.” 

 All in all, DC’s cross country team accomplished much during a great season. The many hours of training and practice paid off with many impressive achievements. Even more importantly, the team's ability to bond together was a major contributing factor in the success of this season. “One of the highlights [of the season] was being together,” explains Coach McFarland. “That’s one of the goals of the coach, just trying to build that closeness to one another that allows them to feel a part of each other’s success and failures.”

Last year, the boys cross country team barely missed qualifying for the state championship, losing by a single point to Bristol High School. This close brush with the state championship should give the team a surge of motivation to shoot for state qualification this year. On top of this, many of the runners are encouraged by the team’s performance thus far. Senior Sam D’Antonio, three-year captain of the boys team, exclaims, “We’ve all been running exceptionally well. It’s been the best start to the season we’ve had for us seniors since freshman year.” In addition, the first BAL meet strongly affirmed the team’s high expectations as the Knights placed first in both the boys and girls divisions.

While the team’s success is one feature that stands out thus far, also unique is the variety of grade levels represented on the boys team. Last year, juniors and freshmen dominated the squad. This year, however, the team’s composition includes four seniors, a junior, four sophomores, and two freshmen. “We have a nice balance of grade levels of boys,” comments the team’s coach, Dr. George McFarland, who anticipates that the mixture will enhance the team’s training. Also, unlike the past two years, there are five girls on the team, enough for them to officially place in the district championships.  

With this promising lineup, many opportunities for growth lie ahead. In preparation, Coach McFarland has been developing insightful ways to improve the team. In the past, he says, the workouts have sometimes been overemphasized, leading to exhaustion and even injuries. This year, the long-time coach plans to focus more on “making a concerted effort of making sure that the athletes are rested.” In order to do this, he asserts, the most important thing will be what the athletes are doing to take care of themselves, including proper nutrition, sleep, and hydration. 

Looking ahead, Dr. McFarland adds, “I’m just hoping we maximize all of our energies at the conference meet, at the district meet, and then… see where we go from there.”