This year’s Cross Country (XC) team has a chance to go down as the fastest team in Millbrook High School history. Led by two outstanding seniors, Tucker Cera and Luke Gosling, this squad has a great chance to shatter records previously set by former teams. Although the boys have two of the top 20 runners in the NC, it is actually the depth of runners that sets this team apart from the rest of the competition. According to Coach Adams, following Tucker Cera’s 5K (3.1mile) time of 15:27 and Luke Gosling’s 15:45 are Nick Scudder’s 16:36, Ryan Bennison’s 17:07, Andy Bennison’s 17:13, and Nianza Nsiambote’s 17:26. The top five runners on each team score points during an XC meet, the higher the place, the lower the amount of points they get. For example, 1st place gets 1 point while 10th gets 10 points. This is where the other runners become important; in order to gain an advantage amongst the other teams, these runners must maintain a high place finish. Throughout the year, this XC team has repeatedly succeeded at this, allowing them to finish undefeated within the Cap 8.

 On a more individual note, the dynamic duo of Tucker Cera and Luke Gosling allow the team to reach new heights, as they are depended on to score the majority of the team’s points. Earlier in the season, at the Adidas XC Challenge, both runners ran a new personal record; Tucker led the way with a 15:27, the second fastest 5K time in Millbrook history. When asked about this feat, Tucker said, “I came into the race with a goal. I wanted to run the fastest time in Millbrook history, and without Luke and the rest of my teammates pushing me in practice, I would not have been able to run my best.” These two runners have two more meets to run in, as they qualified individually for the State Championship and Foot Locker XC Nationals.

  Although the XC season has ended early for most runners, this year’s team went into Regionals very deep. Overall, Millbrook finished in eighth place in the loaded Mideast Region, four spots from a team berth in the 4A State Championship. However, if Tucker or Luke are able to reach a personal record at one of their few remaining meets, then the 2016 Cross Country team will go down as the fastest team in Millbrook history.