The DHS XC team has worked day in and day out for the past couple months, working for one spot and one spot only. A chance at states. The team has to place top six to get a spot in the state meet, with the boys being the closest at 8th place at the moment. Their close win against Magruder, taking them them from 9th to 8th place. Rockville and sherwood are the last two teams they need to beat to secure that final spot. Last year, Damascus High School beat Rockville in a close tri-meet, and eventually knocked them out of states in regionals. It is safe to say, Rockville wants revenge. 

With the rocky road they have endured, with their top two female runners, and top boy runner battling injuries, they still have hope for this team. As Jonathan Richinni, a senior running his last year on the DHS cross country team said, “This season has been a tough season for me, because all the injuries, but honestly it’s been the most fun and rewarding.”  He told The Buzz that having injuries makes him want to persevere even more and do what he can to make this one of his best seasons. Last year, the boys made states with a 6th place finish at regionals with their top runner also qualifying individually.

The DHS cross-country coach, Coach Jefferies, has been coaching for only two years. This year being his second year. His first year coaching he led the cross country team to states with a 6th place finish for the first time in four years, with times drastically improving for many runners. As Connor Zarchin, one of their top five runners, said, “Coach is great at what he does, even though he’s new at coaching. He prepares hard, but rewarding workouts to get us into the best shape that we can be in.” Even their previous coach, Coach Bosnic still watches them run at the championship meets. 

Coach Bosnic with the 2023 girls cross country team. Nov. 2, 2023 (Kerry Oswald)