On Nov. 9, Marathon High School students and faculty gathered together to give the boys’ and girls’ cross country teams a proper sendoff as they travel to their upcoming state meet on Friday, Nov. 12 in Tallahassee. Coming off a strong showing at their regional meet, in which the boys and girls pulled off second and eighth place finishes, respectively, both teams were thrilled to qualify for the state championship races together for the third straight season. Marathon will look for strong team performances led by Monroe County individual champion Pedro Zapata on the boys’ side. For the girls, Rain Banks and Maeve Merryman will look to fill the shoes of injured Monroe County silver medalist Mikkel Ross.