The Providence men’s team brought home a second consecutive state title with much stiffer competition than previous years. The average runner was a full minute and fifteen seconds faster than last year’s championship team. Leading the way were juniors Christopher Caldwell and Teddy Huizinga, and our team captain, senior Matthew Long. They were followed by sophomore Forrest Long and freshmen Nathan White, Matthew Norman, and Shane Brandt. Caldwell set a new school record on Baylor’s Bear Run cross country course. The previous record was 19:31.81 set by Sam Townes. Caldwell set the benchmark very high, shattering the previous record with an astounding finish of 18:17.44, good for second place in the state.  Qualifying for all-state honors were Caldwell with a second place overall finish, Huizinga with a fourth place overall finish, and M. Long with a sixth place overall finish.

The women’s team had an equally impressive performance, wrapping up a third place finish in their first ever team cross country competition.  The women were led by sophomore Joy Berkhouse. Berkhouse earned all-state honors with a fourth place overall finish of 14:43.87.  She also set a new school record with her impressive finish. The previous record of 16:36.98 was held by her sister, Mary Berkhouse, who was in attendance. Berkhouse was followed by junior Candice Dobbs, freshman Cathy Breeding, junior Hannah Weichbrodt, and sophomore Lauren Erickson.

Congratulations to both teams. We have a promising outlook for the 2008 season, as we lose only one runner.  That runner is senior Matthew Long, who has given four years to the program—two of them as the team captain. Matthew has logged over 1,000 miles of running in his career, and we will miss him dearly next season.  Matthew, we are proud of you and thank you for what your leadership has done for this team (two state championships in your two years as team captain).