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Ever since the cross country team received clearance to resume, they have been doing in-person practices. There are new safety precautions put in place to keep the coaches and athletes safe during practices. 

“As captains, we try our best to practice COVID-19 safety precautions and enforce them during our -practices. During all non-running activities, such as dynamic warm-ups or cooldown stretches, masks are required and during our runs themselves we try to limit groups to five or less people,” junior and girls’ cross country team captain Neha Jag said. 

The athletes are split up into boys and girls. Right when the athletes arrive, they immediately get their temperatures taken with two health surveys: one written and the other digital. Once athletes start warming up there are two to three separate groups stretching together, and the boys and girls remain separated. After all the stretching is done, the team starts their run which is when everyone gets to take off their mask. 

“I think that the team is taking enough precautions at practice to stay safe. Although I think some girls on the team outside of practice aren’t being the safest, we can’t really control what they do outside of the practices,” girls’ cross country team captain Madison Parrone said.

Cross country coach Steven White feels that his athletes are doing their best to follow rules and stay safe. He thinks that they have a good process for when the athletes wear their mask and take them off when running. White feels that the cross country team is doing a good job with the safety procedures. 

“I think the team is doing a great job. They come to practice in masks, take care of the proper paperwork, and do drills in small groups as required. We run pretty well spaced out on the trails and put masks on when we stretch after the run/workout. So, yes, I think OPXC is doing a good job following COVID procedures,” Cross Country head coach Steven White said.