Oak Park High School boys cross country is more than a team; they’re a family. Through highs and lows, they have successfully made it to the playoffs with the dedication and support of each other.

“The driving force to get us into the postseason was the culture our top guys and girls have developed,” senior Dhruv Kulkarni said. “Making deep runs and performing late into the season has become an expectation and is what our entire season is planned for.”

Senior Ethan Marley reflected on the journey and accomplishments that got them to the playoffs.

“I’d say our biggest accomplishment this season so far has been coming second at the Clovis Invitational a few weeks ago,” Marley said. “We have had a pretty rocky season in comparison to where we expected ourselves to be, so it was a big reset for the team to see results.”

The team must train differently when expecting to go to the playoffs. Kulkarni explained the meticulous planning that goes into each season.

“Because of how draining the playoff system is for California cross country, we’ve been structuring the past few months with playoffs in mind,” Kulkarni said. “Our top guys and girls don’t race a lot in October, and the training intensity is raised for the 3-week block before playoffs start in November, so that the actual racing performances can benefit, and you don’t go into the last week feeling drained or burnt out from racing.”

Cross country playoffs are not like any other sport. They include multiple races and heats that the boys must overcome.

“Playoffs in cross country have 3 different rounds,” Marley said. “After league, we raced against other teams in our division from the southern section. First is CIF Prelims, where the qualified teams race in 4 different heats. The top 4 teams from each heat move on to CIF Prelims. Each of those 4 teams gets moved into one race for the section title for our division. So 16 teams race finals, and of those 16, the top 7 make it to the state meet. The state me we race against schools across the state in our division. We are Division 3, and it is based on our school size.”

As their season continues, the boys are closer than ever to victory. Their training and commitment to each other has improved the team significantly.

“The team has really improved as a whole; we are faster as a varsity squad this year than last, and our training has been just as consistent,” Marley said. “The drive to run faster has really improved the team. More and more people want to be fast and are willing to put in the work to get there.”