On a sweltering Thursday afternoon, distance runner Dillan R. ’28 drops off her Nike duffle bag on the turf field at the Occidental College campus. She already imagines the exhaustion after her workout, but despite having to juggle school, volleyball, and distance running, she still shows up to practice because it gives her joy. After seven hours of what seems like an endless pile of assignments, practice is a way to shake off the stress of schoolwork. 

Dillan knows that intense practices are only going to help her improve, as does the rest of the Westridge distance team. In Westridge Distance Running, a section of Westridge Track and Field, seven out of ten runners on the roster are named on the top twenty-five fastest times in the 1600 meter race in Westridge history. Additionally, eight out of the ten Westridge distance runners qualified for Prep League Finals.

This season’s team features an additional seven runners more than last season, where only three athletes competed. Now with 10 Tigers running in Prep League long distance events, Head Coach of Cross Country and Track and Field Alyssa Vaughn leads a completely different team and environment. Under Coach Alyssa’s guidance, many runners have achieved personal records, with Emmabella B.-M. ’25 (20th, 6:35), Spyglass staff writer Kelly C. ’27 (17th, 6:32), Dillan R. ’28 (4th, 5:44), Skylar R. ’28 (11th, 6:11), and Spyglass Copy Editor Hermione W. ’27 (19th, 6:34) all in the top twenty-five fastest 1600 times in Westridge history.

The other two runners in the top twenty-five have had their share of experience on the distance team. Senior Ximena A., who has been on the team since her freshman year, is the third fastest in the 1600 meter in Westridge history with a time of 5:53, only behind Z Gutierrez ’22 and Emma Linde ’18. Meanwhile, Sophomore Dylan S. is in her second year on the team and is ranked 22nd with a time of 6:37.

Ximena, Kelly, Hermione, Spyglass staff writer Jane K. ’27, and Dylan, who were in the 3200 meter race, automatically qualified to compete in this Prep League final event, while Ximena, Dillan, and Skylar raced their way into the top 12 of the 1600 meter race. 

Everyone on the team has past experience in long distance running. Freshmen Dillan and Skylar, who ran track in middle school, are now ranked in the top twenty-five this season. The rest of the team ran during the cross country season in the fall, so they had a strong foundation from running three-mile races.

Coach Alyssa also made large changes to the team’s practices by implementing strength and mobility sessions post-runs, as well as organizing consistent off-season runs. Summer practices help to prepare runners for the cross country season, which usually starts in mid-August. Increased consistency in summer practices have proven to be essential for maintaining the team’s fitness.

 In between seasons, runners from Cross Country diligently showed up to practices to prepare for the upcoming track season. In particular, three runners, Hermione, Dylan, and Ximena competed in an optional meet before the season started. They ran in the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships on December 7, 2024. “I think that we had a lot of momentum coming off of the cross country season,” said Coach Alyssa. “Now they’re seeing the results of running a lot faster.”

Compared to last season, there have been more team bonding opportunities. Similar from last year, people who are not running in races can be heard cheering on their fellow distance runners at the meets. However, this year the team periodically runs to Teamorrow near campus to get boba and continues the tradition to go to In-N-Out after meets. You can hear the team talking about everything from upcoming tests to favorite ice cream flavors during stretches and even in between breaths on their runs. 

With so much team bonding going on, harder practices and pre-meet nerves become much easier to overcome. “I think it’s really encouraging to have other people that you can pace with [while running], and it’s always nice to have a lot of people cheering you on…that believe in you,” said Hermione, who will be the co-captain of Cross Country next year.

Coach Alyssa has a promising outlook on the team’s upcoming seasons and hopes to champion more individual achievements and qualifiers in the Prep League, all the while making lasting memories as a team. “I’m hoping that we continue to have a positive trajectory of kids that fully understand the scope of what it takes to be a distance runner. [That means] commitment over summer, sticking together, and encouraging each other.”