There’s only one way to describe the way the girls’ cross-country team has been this decade: dominant. The amazing Phoenix runners have captured the last six Friends’ Schools League team championships, quickly stuffing a trophy case that got its first occupant in 2001. They’ve also finished in the top three in the PAISAA each of the last three years (2016-18). Head coach Venetia Ricketts, who ran at West Chester, is in her 20th season at Friends’ Central, though her current stint as head coach of the cross-country team dates back to 2015. In addition to piling up league titles, Friends’ Central has also seen several of its cross-country runners compete in college, including current Florida graduate student Gabrielle Wilkinson, Macalester graduate Emma Verges, San Diego State University alumna Emily Burd, and Bryn Mawr graduate Amelia McDonnell and current third year, Rebecca Wusinich, who is running at the United States Air Force Academy, Natalie Neuhaus is in her second year at Cornell College, and former University of New Mexico runner Lydia Russell is now a professional triathlete. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.