This year has thrown a curveball to most Americans, and the Trojans were no exception. Pleasantville’s cross country teams weren’t sure what to expect, but they made the most of it.

Limited practice time and a season that started before the first day of school led to some growing pains for some runners, even resulting in non-scoring finishes for the first month or so. This was due to the limited number of athletes competing in orange, but that got resolved as the season went on and both squads fared well in a tough West Central Conference.

Head Coach Aaron Fichter felt that both teams were on opposite sides of what to expect. The girls had continuity while the boys had some relatively unknown factors to overcome.

“I thought on the girls’ side, we did five back from the year before and knew we had a lot of continuity there. We just knew we would have stability and leadership and that kind of thing. On the boys’ side, there was a lot of unknown as far as who was going to be out, if we could build a team. Just some unknown I guess on the boys’ side and then there was a lot of continuity and known on the girls’ side.”

The girls were led by two Seniors in Hailee McCormick and Emmie Kenyon. Fichter also says their leadership will be missed. Top boy Devon Luing is poised to take a similar role next year during his final season for the Trojans.