With the departure of senior leaders from both the boys’ and girls’ teams, Altoona Cross Country is facing a season of transition. Younger runners are stepping up to fill the void left behind, both in performance and leadership.
Along with younger runners stepping up for both teams, a shift in mentality was also necessary. The current teams are different from past ones, and the loss of veteran runners can be difficult to overcome.
Coach James D’Angelo has gone through the transition to a younger team before and knows that a lot has to change when that happens.
“When you go from a veteran team to a young team, you have to change your approach,” Coach D’Angelo said. “Instead of focusing on wins and losses, our approach this year is focusing on getting better PRs. As long as we get better every meet and are better than the previous one, I am satisfied—that’s our focus.”
With an even younger varsity lineup on the girls’ side, growth has become the gold standard for them.
“We have approximately three gaps right now that have been filled in, and we’re progressively getting better each race,” Coach Tabitha Quinn said. “Specifically, we have a freshman, Emma Etters, who’s been outstanding—she basically filled in two pairs of running shoes, so to speak.”
Leadership is no longer defined by age. After the graduation of last year’s seniors, younger runners have had no choice but to grow and step up even quicker.
Both returning and newer runners realized they weren’t just entering the season focused on times—they were stepping into leadership roles.
Junior runner Seth Lieb made the realization he’s been a vital part of the team even when he joined in seventh grade and that now more than ever, he needs to step up and be there for his teammates.
“It definitely made me realize that we don’t have seniors,” Lieb said. “It kind of dawned upon me that I actually am what is helping lead the team. There’s not anyone else to be doing that… It helped me in other aspects of life too, like knowing that sometimes you have to be the person to help.”
However, not every leader has to have years of experience, something junior Archie Glover realized when he joined just last year.
“After the loss of seniors, I realized I needed to step up in a big way,” Glover said. “I just wanted to focus on getting better and staying healthy, so I could be that true number one runner.”
The girls have a slightly different situation as they have two senior runners this year, but it didn’t stop others from stepping up
“I definitely became more of a leader this year and stepped up,” junior Ashlyn Noce said. “I just kind of filled in where needed.”
The remaining seniors on the girls’ side still feel obligated to help out wherever they can.
“I think that obviously as a senior I’ve grown more and more as a leader over the years and being one of the only current seniors on the team, I feel like I need to be there for the younger runners even though most of them have already stepped up,” senior Natalie Etters said.
As both teams work through the growing pains of a younger roster, the focus has shifted from podium finishes to personal growth. With new leaders emerging from unexpected places, Altoona Cross Country is not just rebuilding; it’s redefining what team leadership truly means.
