After their daily practice on Oct. 23, the girls cross country team descended to the track to inaugurate a new tradition. Parents, coaches and teammates gathered to celebrate senior members of the team. Planned by seniors Cindy Phung and Ava Griswold, it was the first senior night in the program’s 16 years under head coach Charlie Cutelli.

“[Senior night] was good. We learned a little bit about the kids that maybe we [didn’t] already know. Parents got to take some photos. Kids got some flowers. Everybody got some cupcakes,” Cutelli said.

The event was the result of coordination and compromise between the team members and Cutelli. Assistant coach Britteny Hess served as a mediator to ensure all involved parties got the event they were hoping for.

“I was approached with the idea of senior night a while back, and my vision of senior night was different from what the girls wanted to do. Coach [Hess] helped make some modifications to it. We love our seniors and want to honor them,” Cutelli said.

The senior night itself may have gone smoothly, but there was a hitch in the preparation — an invited guest was kidnapped by the boys cross country team. Senior Sydney Etchason was forced to journey in search of beloved team mascot Pump the pumpkin, who was safely recovered. Painted by Phung and signed by the entirety of the team, Pump serves as a symbol of the group’s shared experiences.

“Our team imbues this pumpkin with such meaning. [We] really care about [her]. [She’s] our mascot; [she’s on our] shirts. [There’s] no other pumpkin like her. [Phung] put a lot of sweat, blood and tears into decorating her,” senior Sydney Etchason said.

Despite Pump’s kidnapping, the event carried on. It gave runners a chance to celebrate each other and reminisce about their time with the group. Seniors walked down a makeshift aisle, hemmed in by a row of runners on each side, while Cutelli gave his short monologue. They were then gifted a bouquet by their teammates.

“I [enjoyed] how Coach Cutelli read off our favorite memories. None of the memories were [individual]; it was all [about] how [seniors] interacted with other teammates. It’s very much a team sport,” senior Grace Loethen said.

The dynamic of any team is unique. There will only ever be one 2024-25 girls cross country team at West. Cutelli explained why this senior class is special to him and to the rest of the group.

“I am going to miss every girl that is on the team [and] how we interact with each other,” Cutelli said. “For instance, I can make fun of [senior] Olivia [Picaud] night and day, and she handles it well [and] she laughs. [Etchason] and I [will] occasionally butt heads, but I trust [her] with a lot of things within the program — there’s little things with each individual kid. I’ll miss the dynamics [of this] team.”