OHS Cross Country Races Into Action

The Okawville High School Cross Country Team has had an exceptional start to their season this year. They worked very hard this summer in preparation for their meets with the help of coaches Val Tepe and Tricia Schleifer. Mrs. Schleifer is a new addition to the team this year, taking the assistant coach position. 

Mrs. Schleifer wears many hats around the school. When asked why she took on the role of assistant coach despite all of her responsibilities she responded, “I love running, and I am passionate about it. I see the benefits of running for our students now and in the future, and I just wanted to encourage it.” She was asked further about the new position and answered, “I am glad we finally have an assistant coach, it is very hard to be at meets and run things with only one coach. I didn’t realize how much Coach Tepe has to juggle,” she stated. The cross country team is very fortunate to have Mrs. Schleifer as a coach, and we appreciate all the hard work she has put into the program.

The team’s first meet was on August 21, 2022, held at Okaw Valley Park. This is a meet that is well known for having a challenging levy to run up. Thankfully the team’s training prepared them for this obstacle, and they ran well. The girls ended up placing 3rd out of 9 teams, and the boys placed 7th out of 11 teams. Their second meet took place at Mascoutah on August 27, 2022. This was a bigger meet that included a junior high race in which the Okawville Jr. High cross country team ran their very first race ever. Despite the size of the meet, the high school team fared well with the girls placing 5th out of the 9 teams, and the boys taking home 16th place out of 17 teams. We are very excited to see what is to come out of this season.