The Lakewood High School boys cross country team won the Cleveland West Conference Championship in Medina, Ohio, on Oct. 11, 2025, earning the conference title. The Rangers took the win over Buckeye High School by just three points. It was a successful day for the Ranger Boys.
This team, though, is much more than its conference title. They are a family. They have created a welcoming and successful environment, led by their head coach, Charles Moore. Moore has been coaching at the high school level for four years. He said, “I’m very glad that we won the conference championship this year… but the prior years when we didn’t were just as important.” This team is coached by someone who knows the losses are just as important as the wins. Someone who teaches them the importance of hard work, consistency, and using setbacks as a learning experience and motivation.
Moore also makes sure each of his kids brings their personalities to their sport. You are not based only on your talent, but also on your personality and the type of person you are. The energy each runner brings to practice and meets is what defines this team. Moore said, “If I could describe this team in one sentence, it is a team of bold individuals with unique personalities.” He made a team full of individuals who together created a brotherhood.
Moore mentioned that his seniors are the leaders of his team. No captains, no select few — just the seniors. Using their experience and their maturity, they lead the team. Miles Evans is one of the leading seniors. Evans says this year, “It’s definitely been a culture of going above and beyond, not just in hard work but in recovery and leadership.”
As a senior, Evans has been on this team for four years. He knows what it takes to be on this team and to succeed on this team, along with all of his teammates. Each person plays a part on this team, from a new freshman who has never run to a senior who has lettered all four years.
The brotherhood of this team is strong. Before each meet, they have a chanting tradition. Evans said, “…adopted by a senior a few years ago, and from Oktoberfest, the leader says ‘Ziggy Zaga Ziggy Zaga,’ and the rest of the group shouts ‘Oy, Oy, Oy,’ and then we go Rangers on three, one, two, three…” It is loud, fun, and gets all the boys hype up before they compete. This is what the culture is about. In all sports, in all schools, but it’s very strong in Lakewood Cross Country.
Coming into such a big race was, of course, stressful. Porter Gilliland, a junior leader, says that, “mentally, we do workouts to envision our races, just thinking about how well we’re going to do and the competition we will face.” He adds that, “on the physical side, we do one hard run a week, and then the rest is just strength training for endurance.”
This conference victory did not come easily. This team puts in work and trains with intent every day. The seniors pave the way, and the underclassmen are already becoming leaders themselves. This team isn’t here just for this conference win. They are here to become better versions of themselves, learn lessons and make an impact.
For all the youth athletes out there looking for advice from the pros who are in the place you wanna be in the future, listen to this. Will Schuldt, a freshman who holds the 3-mile record, says, “Stay true to yourself. Never let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do. Just keep working hard and believing.”
These are the lessons that are taught on this team. Not that you need to always win, not that you need to be afraid to fail. But to challenge yourself, learn from failure and improve because of it. This team is a brotherhood and would not have been able to win this championship without the coach and every player on the team. Go Rangers!
