LAKERIDGE HIGH SCHOOL–Before the cross country team built a new trail, they were without a place to hold home meets.

With the help of the whole team, a new pedestrian walking running path is in the process of being built on the LHS campus. It will not only benefit the cross country team, but the community as well.

There are many mixed feelings on how the path will impact the team and how it will affect the community moving forward.

Many students, specifically members of the team aren’t so keen on the new trail.

“I’m impressed that it was built so quickly,” said Lucy Adams, a Junior on the team, “but also running on it was really painful. It hurt my feet.” Many other students had the same thing to say.

There are positive outlooks on the pathway though too, and cross country as a whole.

“Cross country is the best. I want to continue doing Cross country four more years because of the teammates and coaches. The coaches believe in you and help you to be the best. Everyone who does cross country you become really close with. It’s a hung family,” said Sadie Fashana, a ninth grader.

About two weeks ago on Sunday, the 24th of September, the entire cross country team gathered to build the new pathway. With rakes and gravel, the athletes and their parents got to work on the trail.

Although the students and their families contributed to this project, head coach Scott Spear has put in a significant amount of effort in the new pathway. Assistant coach Joe Schloetter regarded Coach Spear’s dedication to the path, and said that he has put in the most time by far.

“I’ve spent 52 hours on the machine in the past 10 days or so,” Spear said.

The team didn’t only put in immense amounts of effort, but they also spent $3,500 including donations on materials for about  ¾ of a mile of the trail so far.

Coach Schloetter claimed that the pathway is not finished yet, and the team is planning on putting down wood chips as well as working on making the trail longer, though the final length is still undetermined.

Not only is the new pathway for the cross country team, but it was also built for local residents to use. Neighbors that live nearby Lakeridge are encouraged to walk or run on the path.

“In addition to having a home course, the trail will be a great resource for the team and the community,” Spear said.                    

Despite the mixed feelings on the path now, it isn’t done being built, and there’s still more in store for the future. Many of the athletes now and in the following years, unlike other teams, will be able to look back and reminisce on the effort the team put in, and how it paid off.