For many, summer is a time of relaxation in which students and teachers alike take a moment to refind their centers and prepare for the coming school year at their own pace. However, there are some who’d rather pick up the pace quite literally. Over summer, many camps and activities saw athletic groups undergoing pre-season training, and one such group was Joliet West Cross-Country team.

Spanning most of the month of June, the team spent a great deal of time advancing their athletic prowess and forming bonds. As stated by Junior Athlete Jullian Rosenbach, “Camp was a great opportunity for getting the team together and getting to know incoming freshmen as well as being an amazing opportunity to prepare for the coming season. There was so much improvement that I noticed myself and in others from the first day to the last.”

Most of the team can agree a major highlight of the camp were the long excursions out of town. The team ran along the Chicago lakefront, took in the scenic side of Bolingbrook, traversed the sandy hills of the Indiana Dunes, made a splash in Naperville’s Centennial Beach, and scaled the great (and steep) Swallow Cliff in Palos Hills.

A great deal of personal as well as team growth unraveled as the pre-season program met its end. Reflecting now on the past, Senior Athlete Sam Munson shared, “I ran with a group of hardworking and determined guys.”

A common consensus between athletes’ freshman to senior was a sense of excitement for the coming season. In summary, this fall is ‘promising’ and both students and coaches are proud of recent progress and anticipate a phenomenal year of running.