Senior year, last year of High School, and for Daulten Sadd and Carlos Guerrero last year of XC. For these two captains of the Hastings HIgh cross country team it’s their last year to complete the goals they set themselves.
Sadd joined cross country for the first time in 8th grade and Guerrero started his freshman year of high school.
“In 6th grade Coach Rosno told me I was going to run for him in high school, and my friend Nolan Kohmetscher talked me into it a lot too,” Sadd said.
But Guerrero did cross country to be active in a fall activity and didn’t want to play football so decided to try something new.
“I like how close we are as a team, we’re a family.” Guerrero said.
“My favorite part of cross country is being able to spend time with my teammates who I’ve been able to become good friends with,” Sadd said.
Guerrero plans on running after college but not competitively, while Sadd has a different plan.
“Depending on how the rest of this year goes and track goes maybe, I’ll have to find a college that I’ll fit well with,” Sadd said.
Guerrero’s last meet is coming up.
“My goal is to get a personal best time,” he said. Sadd said he has some goals to meet as a runner.
“I want to be able to say I helped this team be the best it could be, and also I hope I can be able to run often after my competitive career is over,” Sadd said.
Both these runners have reached the title of team captain which both of them clearly said is one of their biggest achievements.
“Earning my first varsity letter and being made captain are some of my greatest accomplishments,” Sadd said.
Guerrero agrees, “I was named captain this year and setting a personal best time at the York invitation are definitely my biggest achievements so far,” he said.
Although it may not seem a team sport these two say a lot about teammates and the impact they have on their running.
“Every goal I’ve ever achieved is because of all the teammates I’ve ever had, they always pushed me to become better,” Sadd said.
Reflecting on his experience, Guerrero said being a team is one of the best parts. “One of the greatest parts of XC is having teammates always pushing you to become better.” Guerrero said. “My biggest challenge is staying motivated,” Guerrero said.
Sadd added his challenge. “Trying to get a good spot as race goes on really challenges me and probably one of the tougher things to do in a race,” Sadd said.
Being seniors and going to a variety of course to run at for four years helps them choose their favorite course.
“Brickyard park here in town is my favorite because I ran my very first high school race there and gave me a feel for what cross country was going to be like,” Sadd said.
“York is my favorite course because I’m familiar with it and the layout is very easy to understand,” Guerrero said.
Being involved in different activities can change an athlete into a different person, and for these two they both think it changed them for the better.
“Cross country taught me to be more of a leader and made me realize how great it is to be able to depend on your team,” Guerrero said.
“I used to be pretty shy, and I think cross country helped me grow up a lot,” Sadd said.
Senior year of cross country, Sadd and Guerrero feel cross country is something they both will love forever and will never forget the greatness of the sport.
