The boys cross country team at Eleanor Roosevelt High School (ERHS) won gold at the Prince George’s County championships and, a week later, at regionals. Sophomore Calvin Ridge took first overall in both races. They will go on to compete in the state championships this weekend.
Many of the team’s current top runners are sophomores, making the team young. Despite this the Raiders still approached their races with confidence. “We were able to do it pretty easily with such a young team,” said 16-year-old Greenbelter Max Leisnham, who placed sixth overall at the county meet.
The team skipped their typical taper before the county championship meet because they felt confident enough. Yet, their confidence to win also came with some pressure. “We were pretty confident we could win, but that added a bit more pressure than we had in previous years,” said Calvin Ridge. The boys cross country team last won the county championship in 2024 (see the October 24, 2024 News Review).
Volunteer Coach Clark Ridge, who also happens to be Calvin’s father, emphasized that the regional meet was a tougher test. “It’s a more competitive meet,” he said. “We performed well enough to win that one as well.”
The training that goes into practices for the runners is a traditional plan, starting with longer but slower mileage in the summer, and adding intervals during the season. They alternate between easy six-mile workouts and mile repeats at a roughly 10K pace during their weekday practices.
Coach Ridge is in his 4th year coaching. He grew up running and ran cross country and track himself at the University of
Delaware. He creates the workouts for distance runners, while head Coach Elgin Gordon works mainly with sprinters.
With the win at regionals, the boys have qualified for the state championship on November 14. Coach Ridge says that the team will take it easy with practices going into state. “There’s very little that you can do to make yourself faster in the last week, but you can make yourself slower by working too hard or getting injured,” he said.
With only one senior and a roster full of underclassmen, the Raiders expect their talent to last. “The team’s good because it’s young,” Leisnham said. “We should be able to be good in the next year or two.”
Watching the team develop is something Coach Ridge looks forward to as well. “That’s the fun thing about coaching: the most rewarding part is seeing people develop a love for running and develop their ability to be their best,” he said.
Claudia Stuart is a University of Maryland student at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism interning with the Greenbelt News Review.
