This fall, the Archie Williams girls cross country team is running into the season with excitement after a successful 2024-25 season, during which they placed seventh in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Cross Country Championships and won the North Coast Section (NCS). Since the 2024-25 season, the team has increased from 18 to 33 runners. In the 2025-26 season, the team looks to maintain its encouraging team spirit and intense training.
Archie Williams girls cross country coach Josiah Russell attributes the recent growth in team participation to the influence of the current runners. Russell believes former runners spark interest and motivate more students to join by sharing their positive experiences on the team with classmates.
“Honestly, [the increase in runners is due to] people having a good time and having good experiences, and sharing those experiences with their friends and classmates. When you hear someone else is having a good time, you’re more likely to come out, try it, give it a shot, and see what it’s all about,” Russell said.
Archie Williams senior runner and team captain, Ani Steig also believes that positive energy surrounding the team attracted new runners. She and her fellow team captains, Brooke and Alyssa, last year worked to cultivate a supportive environment for the past year.
“When Alyssa, Brooke, and I became captains, we wanted to make it a focus to bring the team up and bring the team together. We emphasize team activities and team bonding, and just making an effort to cheer for each other and be there for one another. I feel like that has really shifted the dynamic this year,” Ani said.
Russell has seen the team culture grow over the years, observing how support from older athletes helps encourage newer runners.
“When a varsity athlete or a senior finishes their race, they immediately, instead of going to grab water and do their own thing, will cheer on their teammates. They’re paying attention to their younger teammates, which means a lot to them… When you see that someone who is at a higher level than you cares about how you do, that matters,” Russell said.
The athletes on the team describe themselves as a tightly bonded group. Archie Williams senior runner and team captain Brooke Lee acknowledges how the team spends time supporting each other, not just as runners but also as friends.
“Practice is a time for us to come [out] and spend time with each other, and not just focus on running, [but also] focus on what’s happening in our lives that we want to talk about,” Brooke said.
This focus on team bonding and camaraderie has shown impressive results on the trail. Last year, the team won NCS and placed seventh at the CIF State Cross Country Championships, marking their first time in the top 10. Russell recalls the NCS win as a turning point for the team.
“My favorite moment [from last season] would be the NCS win, just because that was our first breakthrough as a team, the first time we’d ever really won anything as a team. And it was a crazy race that took multiple members of the team who weren’t the shining person every day to come together and win,” Russell said. “So I think that really showed [the team] as athletes what it takes to win at high levels in cross country.”
Ani feels that the team showed grit and perseverance during last season’s NCS, despite the deplorable conditions.
“We went into the race with the mindset, ‘don’t worry about the time, just run as hard as you can.’ We won that race, which is also just a plus, but the most memorable part of [the victory] was that we just went for it, and didn’t even care about how messy and disgusting [we] were gonna get. We just tried our hardest, and it ended up paying off,” Ani said.
Looking forward to the coming season, Russell hopes every runner finds success and feels proud of their races.
“[For] the new season, [I want] everybody going for it, trying their best in workouts and races, giving 100% effort, and doing the little things. We have freshmen that stay 45 minutes after practice, working on core and stretching, and sometimes they’re having a little bit more fun than doing the actual core, but the fact that they’re here 45 minutes after practice just shows you a little bit about this team,” Russell said.
Early meet results indicate a promising season: at their Sept. 3 Stinson Beach race, the Archie Williams girls’ relay team took first place. Brooke finished third, Ani came in fourth, senior Claire Palmer placed seventh, and fellow senior Alyssa Silverstein followed in eighth.
On Sept. 6, the Archie Williams girls’ cross country team took first place overall at the Lowell Invitational, with Brooke finishing second with a time of 16:26.8.
