Warning! An unusual epidemic spread throughout the school and appeared to be highly contagious. The symptoms of this illness included; the urge to run up and down hills (through rain or shine), to run long distances in the shortest amount of time possible, and shortness of breath after running these long distances.

Not much more was known about this rare disease, but at the start of the year both boys and girls had been infected with this so called "running fever."

This epidemic marked the beginning of a new era for the cross country team. Both young runners and a new coach proved to be the right prescription for a successful cross country season.

At the opening of the season, the boys were the only ones who had enough runners to compete as a team, but by the close of the season, "running fever" had spread and infected enough girls also.

"Having a full team really helped the girl runners with their performance,"Sarah Akin, fr., said.

With hard work and perseverance, both teams qualified for state at the regional meet. This was the first time in the history of NV that both the boys' and the girls' teams qualified for state in the same year.

The eleven harriers traveled to Wamego to compete for the state title. While the Raiders fell short of their overall goal, the teams had nothing to be ashamed of. The boys' team finished ninth in the state and the girls' team finshed tenth. Shane Osterhaus led the Raiders and ran good enough to place third individually.

"It was a good season and I enjoyed it. I had hoped the team would do a little better at state, but for me there is always next year," Bryan Clark, fr., said.

This past year marked the beginning of a new era, and hopefully it will stretch into a long tradition. While "running fever" lies dormant for now, there is no telling how it might spread next year and how the Raiders will be infected. - Kris