Goshen Girls Cross Country’s first-ever sectional title driven by friendship and support

GOSHEN, Ind. (WNDU) – For the first time in program history, the Goshen girls cross country team won the section championship.

Five runners finished in the top 20, including Kassandra Ortega, who took third place.

“I want to help my team get there, but I know there are people on my team like Eliza and Yesenia who have also made really good contributions,” Ortega said.

One of the names she mentioned was Yesenia Medina-Santos, her best friend, who saw Kassandra’s potential and encouraged her to join the team.

“I literally dragged her. I told her to come so many times,” Medina-Santos recalls. “My freshman year, I mentioned it to her and like she said, she didn’t even know it was a sport, but I knew she would excel here because she was so great at track. And she proved my point, she’s great. Without them our team wouldn’t be as great. She’s great.”

Seeing Ortega excel in the sport has inspired Medina-Santos to challenge himself in new ways to help the team.

“Last year. I made a commitment to run every day over the summer to try to contribute because I saw what Kassandra does for us and I just wanted to be there for my team, just like she is there for us.” said Medina-Santos.

The two friends are determined to continue supporting each other as Goshen competes at the regional meet in New Prairie this Saturday.

Copyright 2024 WNDU. All rights reserved.