New coaches and captains propel cross country team to new heights
Leo Lucente / The Samohi
Landon Kozmor (’25) runs the 3 mile at the 40th annual Laguna Hills Cross Country Invitational, finishing 15th place in his race.
Last year, the Samo boys’ cross country season ended in November, when they placed fourth at the Bay League finals, where only the top three teams advanced to the CIF Prelims. On the other hand, the Samo girls’ team was able to place third in the CIF Division I Preliminary Race and qualified for the CIF finals. Phoebe Benun (’25) secured a spot for the State Championship as an individual and finished in 20th overall.
This season, Samo welcomes the new head coach Katie Saunders and assistant coach Emily Sutherland. In addition to the new leadership in coaches, cross country in both the boys’ and girls’ teams have new captains. The boys’ team captains are Landon Kozmor (’25) and Leo Lucente (’26), and the girls’ team captains are Cleo Topp (’25) and Maeko Gross (’25). In addition to the great leadership in girls’ team captains, the coaches have high praise for Benun.
“Our star player on the girls’ team is, without a doubt, Phoebe. She pushes herself both academically and in her running,” said Saunders.
In preparation for the season, the Samo cross country teams have been working tirelessly since early July. They have been steadily improving on their mileage and intensity using the tried and true training strategies from former head coach Tania Fischer and former assistant coach Harley Richards. They have also worked on strength and conditioning under Saunders, who specializes in those fields. Saunders expresses how the team will continue to grow under her leadership.
“As the new coach, I am focusing on being a resource to my team. I have knowledge to share in weightlifting, injury prevention, developing fitness plans, nutrition, injury rehab, and the throwing events in track and fields,” said Saunders.
Alongside new leadership, cross country also faces another change, transitioning from Bay to Ocean League. Amidst these challenges, Sutherland still has high aspirations for the season.
“Goals for this season are to be league champs on both the boys’ and girls’ teams and see how far we can get in CIF postseason. As you know, CIF SS is one of the most competitive sections so going to state for each individual team is a big reach goal for us,” said Sutherland.
Saunders adds on that the team is in the right mindset to be able to achieve these aspirations.
“Our team has the ‘want-to,’ they bring effort and energy every day. I know that we can do it,” said Saunders.
Cross Country had their first meet of the season on Sept. 14 at the Laguna Hills Invite. Team Captain Topp placed fourth.