For the first time in school history, according to head coach Ryan Banta, the girls cross country team had four girls qualify for the State Championship.

Junior Sarah Madsen and sophomores Richelle Bain, Lizzie DeJoie and Claire Huang all qualified at sectionals on Saturday, Nov. 1.

“I absolutely lost it in a positive way,” Banta said. “There are very few moments in your lifetime as a head coach when you can look back and say, Wow they really surpassed my expectations.”

Bain had mixed feelings immediately following the sectional race in Farmington.

“It was definitely exciting, but it was kind of tiring obviously,” Bain said. “When we were running it was intense and it took a lot out of us.”

While Madsen was excited for herself, she also looked to support her teammates.

“I was excited to see that my teammates also made it,” Madsen said.

Banta, after becoming head coach last year, was pleasantly surprised by the outcome the girls produced.

“I did not expect them to run this fast,” Banta said. “I knew they were going to do good things, but statistically the chances of us getting four girls out were slim, and so when we did that, it was really impressive.”

Banta believes it takes about five years for a new head coach to establish and build a program. The reason is because every coach has a different philosophy on the best way to create positive team chemistry and prepare for the meets.

“For us to be here in my second year as head coach and being able to have all those girls coming back after making state is really exciting,” Banta said.

Before the race, Banta said he tries to get the runners mind off the race with a joke or a goofy comment. At sectionals, Banta decided to challenge all four of them to make state.

“If all four of you girls qualify I will go run in that lake and take a dive, rather a nice little plunge, into the water,” Banta said.

Banta isn’t the only one who has rituals before every race. The team is a little superstitious while previewing a course they are about to run.

“When we preview a course and we are walking the course we never cross the finish line,” Bain said. “You never finish on the finish line you always just have to walk around.”

Banta was very confident in his girls, as he believed at least one of them have the ability to medal at state.

“I think each girl comes in with kind of a different goal and they are all talented enough to place top 60 position in state,” Banta said.

Madsen didn’t have any specific goals.

“My goal is to just compete as well as I can,” Madsen said. “I’m not really hoping for a specific place.”

Banta wasn’t too concerned with how the girls perform this year at state.

“The fact is that all of these girls will be returning,” Banta said. “We can take some risks this year because it really doesn’t matter other than their own individual race.”

Bain, Madsen, Huang, and DeJoie, ranked 52nd, 83rd, 111th, and 135th respectively, at State in Jefferson City.

Madsen credits Banta for being an excellent coach.

“He is incredibly enthusiastic,” Madsen said. “He just makes sure that we work really hard and work to his expectations.”

Banta is extremely satisfied with his girls and is excited for what the future holds.

“As a whole I think we set the table for some really nice things in the future,” Banta said. “I was just really proud of that, how much the girls improved, and how we really built what I believe is a good team for the future.”