Cross country is one of many sports that Albuquerque High School has to offer. One captain on the cross country team is Emily Schellkopf, a senior who is number one on the Girls Varsity team. Schoellkopf is a talented runner and has “been running on the cross country team since sophomore year.” She also runs track and field and has been doing so since her freshman year. As a team captain, Schoellkopf has to know how to lead the team, but she also needs to continue to set her own goals and be a good, independent runner. Her main goal this season is to “place in the State meet since it’s [her] last year. [She] would also really like to create lasting memories for everyone.” while this is Schoellkopf’s goal, she could accomplish it, as according to MileSplit NM, last St. Pius Super Cinco XC Challenge, she placed number three out of many girls from twenty-one different schools. With a time of 16:09.60, she was only 7.69 seconds behind second place Leah Futey. While Emily Schoellkopf is a great addition, she has a lot to say about the team.

For this 2019 fall season, Schoellkopf likes what she sees and thinks that everyone will be committed. Unfortunately, she says “we lost some key runners this year. So adjusting to that has been difficult, but we’ve compensated well.” Dealing with the sport itself, Schoellkopf says that her “favorite thing about cross country would be the people... we endure the worst workouts together and we still come back for more.” She feels like the most important thing to do is make good memories for the entire team. These good memories would not be created without a coach.

Coach Marconett has been coaching the cross country team at Albuquerque High for twenty-one years. He originally started with the team so that he could coach his daughter who then didn’t join the team, but ended up running her senior year. Coach Marconett had also ran track in high school, and was a gymnast in college. He became interested in running because it was an easy way for exercise. Now, he passes his knowledge of running onto the team.

While Marconett has been at Albuquerque High, the team has been pretty successful. He says “if you define success as going from twelve to thirty kids and bringing times from thirty to seventeen minutes, then yes, we have been successful.” Coach Marconett also explains how last year, both teams placed third in state, the first cross country trophy Albuquerque High had seen. Coach Marconett hopes for students to attend all of the races this season, especially the Albuquerque High invite at Mesa del Sol. This year's team schedule can be accessed on the Albuquerque High School website so that students can come show some bulldog pride.