This season the cross country team got a new coach, Chris Markham, who is new to Riverbend’s cross country team and also is new to coaching due to the fact that he recently graduated from college. He has been running cross country since his sophomore year of high school. “I love our new coaching staff, they have made a huge difference with how the team conducts themselves,” says Dillon Fields. The team has been training hard with workouts consisting of core activities and speed workouts. “Training is pretty rigorous and provides a nice variety of workouts and distance running.” They do have things that they still need to work on like trying to get faster times, longer strides, and better breathing. The team seems to be enjoying their new coaching staff and the new season. “The season has been a lot of fun so far, as we reach the postseason,” says Dillon Fields. The cross country team competed in the Commonwealth District Championship meet, the boys team got 2nd out of 7 teams, with injuries to two of the top five runners which prevented them from winning. The girls team got 4th out of 7 teams, also with injuries to three of the top seven runners, but they were still able to come within 3 points of the 3rd place team.