Spending time with your friends, getting in shape, and competing, what could be more fun? The West Bloomfield High School Cross Country seniors have been doing this for seasons and seasons, having the time of their lives while running. The 2015 West Bloomfield High School cross country senior boys are Alex Chau, Jason Lin, Cole Phillabaum, Elan Pszenica, Rahsaan Leonard, Anoop Ravella, Jonathon Robinson, Jacob Schmitt, and Nolan Tomkovicz. They all had exhilarating seasons, as Phillabaum said he  “I liked the spaghetti dinners and getting to become friends with my teammates.” Coach Nathan Bellil also enjoyed coaching this year’s seniors, and praises the legacy they have left behind.

The 2015 cross country senior girls are Amira Anis, Samantha Fincannon, Maki Kamiya, Miki Kamiya, Madison Orow, Reina Otsuka, and Katelyn Sheena. These seniors have worked incredibly hard for the results that they achieved this year. Coach Brian Murphy says that he “definitely feels that the leadership had a tremendous growth within this group of seniors. Comparing each senior’s leadership level now to where it was when they were new to the team shows tremendous growth! I was very proud of all the seniors for this!” Senior Reina Otsuka had a great season, saying that “The XC team really grew both size-wise and potential-wise this year, and as a result I really felt like the familial bond amongst the members grew as well. I love how we all pushed each other to do better and gave each other so much support at the meets. I will definitely miss the team dinners and he girls’ sleepovers.” Otsuka plans on joining a running club at the collegiate level to keep up her running. Senior Madison Orow, who was a runner on the cross country for all four years of high school says that her favorite part of being on the cross country team was “was being able to make friends within all different grades and have a supportive and loving team who did everything together.” Orow will miss her teammates, coach, and the sport itself. Senior Katelyn Sheena, who has also been on the cross country team for all four years of high school says that her favorite part of being on the cross country team was “the way our team was, we were one big family. We supported each other from the beginning until the end.”
The Cross Country seniors overall had an amazing season, even taking first place at the De La Salle Invitational in both the boy’s and the girl’s teams. Coach Murphy says that he will miss “The atmosphere they brought to the team. This season the cross country team had a great relationship with each other and that was mostly contributed to the atmosphere the seniors brought to the team. This was great to see and made the season very enjoyable!” Congratulations to all of the seniors of Cross Country on an amazing season, as finishing an exhilarating season was a great start to their senior year of high school.