His comments didn’t surprise me because people have always spoken about our team that way. Others who come to cross country meets are surprised when they see how friendly, cohesive, supportive of one another and incredibly determined the team is. Many of our athletes run part of the Colorado Trail in the summer, working as a team to help everyone reach camps nightly, often running/hiking 20 miles a day together. During the school year, they train sometimes in the mornings and again for hours in the afternoon.

This is a determined team that works hard. This is also a multi-faceted team that is like a family, in a no-cut sport, one that works to include everyone who chooses to race. It has provided my son with amazing experiences and the opportunity to be coached by David McMillan. This is a coach who provides personalized support to each athlete, works with Seniors to mentor younger runners, who embodies the concept of teamwork, and who will even stop the buses occasionally just to encourage everyone to look up at the stars. That is what this team is and continues to be.

Ironically, it seems that the team’s decision to immediately tackle recent drug and alcohol issues in a very open manner may have given others the impression that this is a deep-seated issue for our team. I ask community members to notice not just the mistakes that have been made, but also the leadership that the team and our coach are showing in addressing these issues, which are by no means unique to our team.

Trisha Rickey

Durango