Cross country runners reflect on the season

Anthani Randall and Dameon Ellis ll • 16 Views

November 25, 2025

Junior Ethan Cain has been part of cross country (XC) for three years. Inspired by his mother’s running background, he joined the team as a freshman and has grown into a great athlete.

Since joining, he’s seen major improvement and believes the program builds strong athletes and bonds. A big influence on his development was former teammate Kai Maeda, who consistently pushed him to recognize his potential.

Cain holds a 17:18 official 5K Personal Record and a 17:01 unofficial best. Cain focuses on fueling, hydration, stretching, and sleep. His motivation comes from personal goals and the work he’s already put in. To Cain, XC builds mental toughness through shared challenges.

First-year runner Rosalina “Rosie” Perez joined cross country without prior experience. Though new to the sport, she found it both challenging and rewarding, discovering similarities to track while adjusting to the different team environment.

Perez believes XC builds mental toughness and physical strength. However, she feels the team’s bonding could improve, especially for newcomers who may struggle to integrate into long-standing friend groups. Perez prepares seriously for meets by focusing on eating, hydrating, sleeping, and staying ready.

Her race motivation is simple but honest: food. When fatigue hits, she thinks about the meal she’ll enjoy afterward, especially a bacon burger. Perez believes the biggest difference between track and XC is the closeness of the team. Cross country’s smaller group creates a more personal atmosphere.

As this story comes to an end we wish the best for all these XC runners and can’t wait to see how they do during the season. Good luck XC!

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About the Contributors

Anthani Randall, Reporter

Anthani Randall is a high school senior currently enrolled in Lindbergh high school, He was born on December 26th 2007 at valley medical hospital. At Lindbergh high school Anthani plays football, he plays wide receiver and has played for two years. He says being 6’5 helps a lot especially when he plays corner back because of his long wingspan. Although Lindbergh is not having a good season so far Anthani is hopeful that they can turn it around. Another sport Anthani plays and excels at is track and field, He runs the 110 meter hurdles, and also participates in the high, and long jump. He will be going into his second season later in the spring and he hopes to make it to state. When Anthani isn’t playing sports he spends his time going outside on walks and sight seeing, he mentioned that his favorite place he visited was mount Rainier because of the views, natural rock formations, and the history. He also said it gave him a new outlook and perspective on nature. Some of Anthani’s other hobbies include watching anime, playing video games, and socializing with friends. Some of his favorites are One Piece, Madden, nba2k, watching college football and the NFL, and visiting new places.

Dameon Ellis ll, Reporter

Dameon Ellis is the youngest of five kids and also the only boy. His dad, Dameon Ellis Sr., had two daughters, Darnecia and Dayshawn, before meeting Thaiescia, who already had a daughter named ThaiLehr. Together they later had De’Jah, and finally Dameon came along even though his parents thought they were done having kids. Growing up with only sisters, Dameon’s childhood was a little different. Sometimes they would dress him up for fun, but he was still into comics, Transformers, dinosaurs, and video games. Sports didn’t really interest him at first, and his parents never pushed him into them either. It wasn’t until seventh grade at Meridian Middle School that he joined track and tried shot put. After moving from Kent to Renton, he went to Nelsen Middle School where he kept meeting new people and stayed with sports. Now at Lindbergh High School, he plays football, wrestles, and does track, and he’s really enjoying it. Dameon hopes to keep playing sports in college while studying psychology and philosophy. “Sports are fun, but I’m just excited to see where life takes me,” he said.