MARION — The Apponequet Regional High School cross country program went over the river and through the woods Tuesday, Sept. 24. 

The boys and girls cross country teams traveled to face Old Rochester Regional High School — a bus trip that almost certainly crossed the Mattapoisett River. Then, the Lakers threaded around the leafy, forested terrain of Marion’s Washburn Park.

Though both the boys and girls varsity teams lost to Old Rochester, runners ended the day on a positive note. 

Junior Keltey Fournier said the meet Tuesday was “pretty good.”

Weaving through the grassy floor of Washburn Park beats running on pavement, according to Fournier. 

“The weather was nice because we had a lot of hot races in the past days,” Fournier said. “The course was pretty good. It was a nice cross country course because we were in the woods.”

The boys cross country team was dealing with several injured runners, according to junior Ryan Levesque.

“We were expecting to win this but unfortunately weren’t able to come out with the W,” Levesque said.

Fournier said several runners on the girls team had injuries. 

“We’ve had to just kind of take it easy, but for the most part, we’ve been doing good this year,” she said.

The boys team is a “great pack,” according to Levesque.

“We’re a great community, and we have a lot of fun,” he said.

The Laker runners are hoping to win the conference, Levesque said. 

“I think that’s one of our biggest goals here,” he said. “I think we have a pretty good shot at it, especially with our team, the way things have been looking.”

Fournier said the cross country team is a “good group of girls.” 

“I think everyone is really hard working and strong,” she said. “We really do support each other when it comes to races, and we always try to think positive, even when it’s a bad day.”