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Welcome

Welcome to the Pine Ridge School Cross Country Team Homepage. We hope you enjoy your visit and please visit us often for new pictures and news.

This page includes information for both the Pine Ridge High School Cross Country Team and the Pine Ridge Elementary or K-8 Cross Country Team.

Information on these pages is as current as provided by Team Coaches.

Current Coach Information:

• High School Cross Country Coach(s):
  • Coach Dale Pine
  • Coach Cory Black Feather
• Elementary School Cross Country Coach(s):
  • Coach Darby Steele

Cross Country Requires a SPECIAL Athlete

By Dale Pine, PRHS Coach

Cross-country is like the triathlon of running because it combines all the attributes you need to be a good runner: Speed, strength and stamina. It is demanding, challenging, and a unique kind of running, its---unpredictable.

The runner who excels in CC is different from the track runner. CC demands a breed of athlete who runs uphill, downhill, through mud and streams, over rocks and concrete, in dirt and grass, in sweltering heat and in freezing rain and snow and still adjusts to the situations and conditions, while controlling the speed and tempo of the race. A true CC runner above all else needs to be tough and aggressive. You have to attack hills and finds your way through packs of over 100 runners. Sometimes you even have to push and shove. Speed and agility don't necessarily guarantee a win because much more is involved.

The thing that all great cross-country runners have is mental toughness. You have to be mentally tough to deal the course, the conditions, the competition and practices. You have to be able to think and react quickly. You need to be calm under pressure in order to respond positively and come through in crucial situations.

When running cross-country racing in towns and cities it's usually run in parks and at golf courses. Good courses race up and downhill, along with a variety of scenery and possibly some water along with long straightaway and looping turns. Races on the reservation are run through school grounds and the country side, usually not the smoothest surfaces. Girls run 4000 meters(2.49 miles) in high school and boy's 5000 meters(3.2 miles). This is why conditioning is the real key to successful performances.

Cross Country thrives on an athlete's individuality yet no sport is more team oriented. Cross country is truly a team sport. Pushers are as important as the top runner in a tight points situation. More importantly a team gives a sense of unity and purpose. You can't just run for yourself, you also have teammates to consider.

Scoring is easy; the team that has the lowest point total is the winner. It is determined by adding up the team's places as points. In most meets that we participate in we count the top four runners. Depth is important in case of tie the deciding point is the pusher. Stronger pushers also improve the front runners. Having an individual winner seldom means the team will be victorious.

If you measure success with individual wins, you probably won't be successful. A few runners quit if they can't be the best runner. They don't realize that every member is important. The real winners are the runners who don't always come in the first but work on improving and they never quit.

Links to Pictures of varous events:

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If you would like more information about the Pine Ridge School Thorpes, please call the High School Administration Office (605) 455-6505. If you have other questions or web site feedback, please view our contact information page.