The Liberty girls cross country team returned to the top of the Maryland 1A podium in 2025, capturing its first state championship since 2019. For coaches and brothers Ryan and Trent Rose, the title represented years of building a small program into one where athletes believed they could compete for a championship and, perhaps just as importantly, wanted to do it together.
Now, the Lions enter 2026 with nearly their entire championship roster returning after graduating just one senior. With a year of championship experience behind them, Liberty is looking to see how much further this group can take the program. We caught up with the coaches Rose, along with Liberty runners Avery Nielsen, Sarah Bergeron, Claire Broske, Kayley Cole, and Laura Melinciuc, to reflect on last year's championship and look ahead to another season of competition, growth, and plenty of fun.
Coach Questions - Answered by Ryan & Trent Rose
1. Looking back now, what does that championship mean to you and your program?
Coach Ryan Rose:The win was very exciting, and a nice milestone for our girls program, getting their first win since 2019. More than anything, I look back on how together our group felt in the week leading up to States. The girls were leading lots of group talks and expressing gratitude for each other, it was a lot of fun to be around. The coaches felt great about where we were at heading into race day, and the girls deserve a lot of credit for that.
Coach Trent Rose: I think last year was an accumulation of what the girls' team has been trying to create since I have been here as a coach. The girls' team has been trying to create an environment that fosters that competitive belief, and last year it felt like we hit a threshold of having enough of the team there that we could be fighting to win a state title.
2. Was there a race, workout, or turning point when you realized your team had the potential to accomplish something special?
Coach Ryan Rose: There were a couple big moments throughout the season. We had a few late signups early in the season, which for a 1A girls team can make a really big difference. Another moment that comes to mind is a group talk we had about our team goals for the season. A few people brought up a state title as a goal, but every single person said they wanted to have fun and support the people around them. Having that alignment was big for our group.
Coach Trent Rose: We felt that way when we saw who was turning out for cross country. A lot of the girls we added last year had run track but not done cross before, so seeing them wanting to do more racing was very encouraging.
3. As you turn the page to 2026, what excites you most about this year's team?
Coach Ryan Rose: We were pretty young last year -- it's exciting to bring back a lot of the roster now with some championship cross country experience. I think our team will do very well, but I'm most excited about finding new ways to have fun with the sport and with our team.
Coach Trent Rose: Returning so many girls. We only had one senior last year, so we get to have a group that already thinks of themselves as this competitive unit, and I will be very interested to see how they challenge themselves even further this season.
4. Who are some athletes that you expect to take on bigger roles this fall?
Coach Ryan Rose: Our 4-6 returners from last year probably have the biggest opportunity to build on what we did last year as a team, so Claire Broske, Sarah Bergeron, Kayley Cole, and potentially some of our new members could have a big impact this season. There are good reasons to think every single one of our girls could take a big step this season, performance-wise and leadership-wise. Very excited to see how that shakes out!
Coach Trent Rose: Kayley Cole. Kayley has a couple of traits that, as a coach, are awesome to work with. She has a willingness to dump time and energy into whatever catches her attention. As Kayley has gained a greater appreciation for running over the last two years, I have seen more and more of that attention get steered towards running. It feels like she is always around at this point, learning, watching, and trying new things. Kayley is also great at keeping an open mind. I think it's really easy for people to trap themselves in these boxes of "this is the type of runner I am" or "these are weak points that I will always have to work around," but Kayley is super malleable to whatever she needs to be. In track, I have no idea what she would consider her primary event, and I'm not sure she does either. In cross country, I think there is a group she fits in nicely with for training, but I've seen her occasionally run with our top group to see what it feels like. Kayley has done herself a lot of favors and left the door open on a plethora of ways she could have a bigger impact on the team this year.
5. What goals have you and your team set for this season, and are there any invitationals or championship meets you're especially looking forward to?
Coach Ryan Rose: We haven't had goal conversations yet for this season. Counties and states will surely be marked on our calendar though. I'd like our team to place highly in the states combined classifications results. We've got a lot of talent, I think our group can be competitive with anyone in Maryland on our best days.
Coach Trent Rose: My goal for the team this season is for them to take bigger ownership of their own trajectory. It can be hard if you're the returning state champion and you feel like you have a stronger team to keep reaching for more. I want them to find ways to empower themselves to be more than athletes trapped in a 1A box. I'm excited for our county meet. Personally, I think McDaniels' course is one of the best high school courses in Maryland. Also, the Century girls always seem to bring the best out of us.
6. What do you hope this year's team is remembered for when the season is over?
Coach Ryan Rose: Our culture. These girls, and many who came before, have built our team much higher than they found it. I hope that's acknowledged by the girls who come next, and they do their best to do the same for our program.
Coach Trent Rose: I hope the girls on our team remember this team as a place where it was fun to get better. Somewhere where everyone was encouraging you to be a better version of yourself and rewarded putting out effort over getting results.
7. How long have you been coaching? How did you get your start?
Coach Ryan Rose: This is my fourth year coaching. I always thought I would get around to coaching one day when I was running in high school. It was an easy 'yes' when my brother asked if I wanted to join him at Liberty my last year of college.
Coach Trent Rose: This will be my sixth year coaching. I started when I was still in college but had run out of eligibility for collegiate running. I went to River Hill, where I went to high school, and worked as a volunteer under my high school coach for a season. Liberty needed a track and field coach that year, and River Hill's coach connected me, which is how I ended up at Liberty.
8. What's one of your favorite memories from your coaching career that still makes you smile?
Coach Ryan Rose: An athlete wrote me a letter early in my career to tell me a conversation we had helped her to see herself as a stronger person. It can be hard to see the impact you have on people if they don't share it with you. That letter, and others like it, are some of the nicest gifts I've ever received.
Coach Trent Rose: My first day coaching at Liberty, I was really nervous. I had no connection to these kids, and I was trying to create this trust so that in three weeks they would feel confident about racing. I had planned to do a bunch of 1-on-1 conversations at the end of practice with the upperclassmen to start building this connection. I'm breezing through practice just thinking about these conversations at the end.
After warmups, I'm telling everyone what their run is, and one freshman, Xavier, asks me, "What does easy mean?" I was thrown for such a loop because I'm trying to explain to him that easy means easy, and he's telling me that he's never run, so he gets tired after a mile, so how is he going for 30 minutes and have it be easy? I always smile thinking about that because I was so in my head, and Xavier was worried about something completely different.
9. If someone spent one practice with your team, what's something they'd quickly learn about your program's culture?
Coach Ryan Rose: I think we're pretty laid back. A lot of what we do starts with the athletes. They want to work hard, so we work hard. They want to have fun, so we have fun. Whenever we can we're doing those things on their schedule.
Coach Trent Rose: It starts from the athletes. We have a small team, and to keep as many people as we do, we have to be flexible, working around athletes' schedules. We don't have captains this year. We plan to award a couple of them the title at the end of the season based on who the team felt showed the most leadership during the season. As long as people communicate and are uplifting towards others, it feels much like a group of people helping each other and less like a hierarchy.
Athlete Questions - Answered by Avery Nielsen, Sarah Bergeron, Claire Broske, Kayley Cole and Laura Melinciuc
1. What's one word that best describes this year's team, and why?
Avery: I would say encouraging because no matter the day, the team is always lifting each other up. Whether on a run, in a workout, or just hanging around, everyone is always saying "great work!" or "keep it up!" No one is ever looking down on anyone. We run as one team and finish as one team.
Sarah: One word that I would use to describe our team is cohesive. The official definition of cohesive is "sticking or fitting together to form a united, orderly whole". I take a particular note of both the 'stick' and 'fit' portions of this definition. We are all different people, with different backgrounds and strengths. Yet somehow, we all find ways to fit together as a team. Once we all fit, we all stick together and support each other consistently.
Claire: Hardworking because everyone wants to win another title and we just put in the effort and we stay focused when we need too and it shows that we work very hard and that we do care.
Kayley: Motivated -- we knew that we had a chance at winning states from the beginning of the season however, we needed to work hard to achieve this goal. This mindset made us more motivated then ever to put in the work at practice every day, push beyond the lactic in the second mile during races, and as a team push ourselves to become the best runners we could be.
Laura: This year's team is amusing. I think we will shock a lot of people including ourselves. There isn't even potential, there is just a LOT of hard work and grit that has been building over the summer in us. It's going to be a lot of fun.
2. What's one goal this team has that goes beyond winning races?
Avery: This year we have a lot of new runners on the team. We want to ensure that we have a tight bond with each other. So focusing on team bonding activities will build more powerful connections, which will then carry into our races.
Sarah: Ultimately, the biggest goal this team has beyond racing is to build and maintain a strong and supportive relationship. Specifically, one that doesn't falter when school gets stressful or people lose motivation. A team that can hold its members accountable while also being supportive is the very thing that changes both individual performance and overall experience.
Claire: Just making sure that we are all getting along and staying connected and really focusing on the important things. And also making sure that we all stay very healthy this year and are little to no injuries.
Kayley: Team dynamic has always been a big focus for our team. Cross country is a very demanding sport both physically and mentally; most people think it's an individual sport because when you're racing it's only you, but in the starting box is the group of people who have made this sport worth doing. And that's why team dynamic is so important to success because you have to have a support system of people who understand the pain and everything you have been through to encourage you to be your best.
Laura: Having fun with it. It's cheesy and every team says it, but really it is so true. It's hard to have fun racing when you are at mile 1.5 and you feel like hell, so just sinking into the pain and really embracing it would truly make this team go above and beyond. Also at the end of the day, how crazy could you be to train 20-30 mile weeks and then race and not be absolutely obsessed with the process? That's just torture.
3. What message would you like to send to your teammates and fans as the 2026 season begins?
Avery: For my teammates, I want them to remember that the journey is just as important as the finish, and every mile makes us stronger. For our fans, one thing I would like to say is don't blink because this team is moving fast!
Sarah: I would tell my teammates that nothing is guaranteed, and future success relies on our commitment to this team and ourselves. Past wins and losses do not define our future. I would tell fans that when they see our success, they should understand our dedication and tight bond are what got us there.
Claire: I hope that it is another great season and that we can all do what we do best which I know we can.
Kayley: Just have fun! You are going to have good races and bad races, good days and bad days at practice, but just remember the fun times that make you do this sport, like the pasta parties or the bus rides, and remember you always have the team beside you. And to the fans, get ready for another state championship.
Laura: I better see lots of posters!
The Liberty girls cross country team returned to the top of the Maryland 1A podium in 2025, capturing its first state championship since 2019. For coaches and brothers Ryan and Trent Rose, the title represented years of building a small program into one where athletes believed they could compete for a championship and, perhaps just as importantly, wanted to do it together.
Now, the Lions enter 2026 with nearly their entire championship roster returning after graduating just one senior. With a year of championship experience behind them, Liberty is looking to see how much further this group can take the program. We caught up with the coaches Rose, along with Liberty runners Avery Nielsen, Sarah Bergeron, Claire Broske, Kayley Cole, and Laura Melinciuc, to reflect on last year's championship and look ahead to another season of competition, growth, and plenty of fun.
Coach Questions - Answered by Ryan & Trent Rose