The cross country teams used their preseason retreat trip in Arizona as a fantastic bonding experience. 

The cross country teams took a five day trip to Arizona, partially to get ready for their upcoming season, but also to continue a tradition that started last fall. Junior Maddie Jahshan said, “Last year was the first time that we did the trip. It was more of a test trial…we were there for two days and we really liked it. This year we went for five days.”

During their five day retreat, the cross country teams were separated from the outside world by both the rigorous nature of the trip and by not having access to their phones due to the poor cell service in their camp, which helped fulfill the purpose of the trip. 

“The purpose of the trip was to get the teams together. The running trails were great and it was fun to run as a full team. However, a significant part of the trip was to take us away from outside responsibilities and get to know each other without having any outside stressors distract us,” said senior Michael Vaquilar.

The fun continued with their annual talent show hosted by the coach. The talent show gave the teams the ability to relax and enjoy team camaraderie, which seemed to reap great benefits in their combined success on the field.  

“One of the highlights which we did also last year is that our coach likes to have a talent show. The talent show you have little groups and they are called accountability groups and they are assigned in June through an email. For example in my group it was me, a girl older than me and a freshman. And we just do a little talent. For example, one was a rap,” Jahshan said. “It is random, but it forces people that are shy out of their comfort zone.”

The talent show was a huge success, and both Vaquilar and freshman Audrey Barcenas described it as a highlight of the trip. “Some of the highlights of the trip was definitely the team talent show that was hilarious,” said Barcenas.

The teams also ran together in the mornings, and had exhausting team workouts. Barcenas said she also took advantage of this trip to learn new methods and techniques for running from her coaches and veteran teammates. 

The freshmen on the team really benefited from the trip. They were able to end their trip having talked to, and gotten to know, their teammates. “What I liked about the trip and the freshmen is that we did not feel forced to talk to them or get to know them. It just naturally happened because we are around them all the time and we are doing so many things with them. It is honestly nice, we have a really good team dynamic,” said Jahshan. 

The cross country teams have races on Sept. 10 at the Coyote Challenge in San bernardino. All of their races will be away meets. So to keep track of their progress make sure to follow the athletics’ page on Instagram @cuigoldeneagles and check on cuigoldeneagles.com for more information and news on our Golden Eagles. 

 

Tags:

---

About Jenna Hoffman

More articles by Jenna Hoffman