So far in the Ovid-Elsie girls cross country season, the team is 3-34 for its season record. Although this may seem like it would set the runners back, Junior Emme Koutz said, “The team works together well and we all support each other as if we were family.”

Emme Koutz is the girls team captain and plans on going to states for the third year in a row. Last year, she ran a 19:52 at the state meet at the Michigan International Speedway.

Koutz said, “I really want to go to states for a third time, it’s a really great experience that I will always remember.”

Junior Ashley Pumford said, “This year has gotten a lot harder at practice but the hard work will help us drop times.” Pumford plans on dropping her times this season to make up for the team size. New to the team is foreign exchange student, Elena Davidonic.

Davidonic said, “The girls have been really welcoming, and they make the practice and workouts better.”

Although the girls team has eight runners, the team is eager to improve and work together. The last meet was the MMAC league meet at Byron High School and the team finished in 6th place out of six teams. Scoring is measure by the finishing times of the top five team members.  The top five runners in were: Emme Koutz in second place with a time of 20:02, Tristin Ziola in 25th place with a time of 26:07, Sam Grubaugh in 40th place with a time of 27:43, Ashley Pumford in 46th place with a time of 28:46, and Leah Gruber in 50th place with a time of 29:30.