CKHS’s cross country team recently held a two-week fundraiser with Brown Bear Car Wash, which ran from Oct. 7 to Oct. 21. Members of the cross-country team promoted tickets for the car wash in Silverdale, and all of the money went directly to assisting the team.

As senior varsity captains for the cross-country team, Bella Welk and Taylor Palmer ensure that they know what their team needs in order to succeed, including what opportunities are open or the types of equipment they need to train with.

Currently ranked third in Washington State, CKHS cross country athletes have to work hard to stay at the top. In order to maintain such a high rank, they have attended numerous important meets and kept rigorous training routines. Consequently, the expenses of hotel rooms, transportation, and quality training equipment can easily add up. 

Furthermore, a lack of funds would hinder those opportunities. Not only did the fundraiser help fund future cross-country equipment and meets, but it will also encourage the athletes through tangible support and encouragement from the school.

“[The money from the fundraiser] is paying for a trip we went on to Portland,” Welk said. “It pays for our meet entry, and we got to stay overnight to go to this big meet. But it’s also paying to get us new tents, new weights, and other equipment we need to train.”

Through the hard training CKHS’s athletes have done, hopeful success is, once again, near. CKHS’s Girl’s Cross Country had won first in championships for their 2022 and 2023 seasons; therefore, hopes are high for yet another distinguished title as their athletes have continuously worked towards improving. Although the mechanics of cross country are simple, the process to make it to the championships isn’t common knowledge.

“So, we have leagues this Saturday,” Palmer said. “It’s the top seven teams; if you make it through leagues, then you go to districts, and then it’s the same thing. Top seven from each meet, and then districts, and then state.” 

Welk and Palmer recognize that cross country differs from other sports. With cross country, most of the time, the athletes aren’t visible to their fans. They frequently run through veiled courses, such as forests and other distant paths. For the amount of hard work and dedication cross country athletes put into their running, they don’t have as much time in the spotlight as different athletes. But despite the lack of visibility, Welk and Palmer haven’t noticed a lack of support from the school.

“With cross country, it’s a little bit hard because the meets are usually far away and long,” Palmer said. “So, it’s not really like basketball or [other sports], so the school can come and watch it… I feel like we’re supported.”