The Lick-Wilmerding cross country team is off to yet another great start following a strong finish to the 2013 year, in which the girls and boys finished 4th and 6th in the state respectively. This year’s teams are looking even more promising than last years.

The girls started this year ranked #1 in the state, but injuries to their varsity team have lead to unexpected setbacks. They return an impressive group of varsity runners, including Maddy Nakada ’16, Jill Reilly ’17, Lindsey Bach ’17  and senior captains Julia Thompson ’15 and Kelowna Ostwald ’15. Ostwald has become a key varsity contributor following an impressive slew of personal records.

The boys team has shown that they will be a strong contender for this years state title with a second place finish at The Stanford Invitational despite running without senior captain and top runner Stephen Page ’15. The Stanford team was highlighted by senior captains Matt Jenkins ’15 and James Rich ’15, along with Brian Ebisuzaki ’16, Jackson Vachal ’17, Sean Laidlaw ’18 and Erik Stein ’18. However the true strength of the boys team lies in its depth, as Cross Country Express called Lick the “Deepest team in this division with solid duo up front.” With over 50 dedicated runners on the team, the team looks to defend both their Varsity and JV league championship titles this year.