After placing first in Regionals on Oct. 25, the DGS boy’s cross country team will be moving on to Sectionals Nov. 1 at Katherine Legge Park, which will ultimately decide who participates in the state championship in Peoria.

The Best Friends camaraderie, a “team culture where everyone is welcomed, everybody can be themselves,” as head cross country coach Brian Caldwell puts it, still resonates with a number of current athletes on the team despite its struggles over the past couple of years.

“I would say it’s more of a symbol, in which the cross country teammates are more than just teammates. This is like, your favorite people. This is who you love to be around with. … “It’s literally the only reason why I show up to run senior year. It’s by far the biggest reason,” said Robinson.

The origin of Best Friends came from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the athletes and coaches attempting to make the most of the season despite the mask and social distancing restrictions. It had athletes meeting in various locations around downtown Downers Grove and going for runs and participating in workouts.

Coach Caldwell described how coordinating these meetings around Downers Grove during COVID, paved the way for the athletes to bond and then spend time together outside of the sport.

Caldwell also mentioned still seeing cross country alumni years later, hanging out and going for runs around the community.

“I’ll see Willer and Urban and Shane, and there’s a group of them, like, hanging out over there. And I think that’s a big thing. And that happens just when you’re running all the miles, you’re working that hard together all the time, you’re gonna create some bonds,” Caldwell said.

Although Best Friends was nameless at the time, the name or the chant wouldn’t become relevant until that winter during the track season. The name originated as a “goofy idea” from assistant coach Sean Senf, that the athletes began breaking out with it.

However, during the 2023-24 season, as seen by the coaches, there was a decline in the spirit of Best Friends within the whole team.In spite of that, the comradery and Best Friend enthusiasm between the class of 2024 remained strong but conservative.

“But they were all very nice, and the interesting thing is, they were actually really good friends, but I don’t think [class of 2024 athletes] carried that through the whole team,” Caldwell said.

Junior Colin Mukushina shares his view about the decline of Best Friends.

“And I think some of the people who helped keep it going a lot also graduated. So then last [2024-25] season, it started, it basically started wearing off,” Junior Colin Mukushina said.

Jonathan Robinson argues that the team’s objective throughout the years has shaped the decline in Best Friends.

“Yeah, and I feel like the last three years has been, the DGS teams struggling to get to state every year. And instead of the goal being connect with your teammates with the idea of best friends, it’s more just like, let’s get to state. … I don’t think that was the number one priority freshman year. That’s just not the vibe I was getting,” Robinson said.

Coach Cadwell described the lack of Best Friends excitement at the beginning of the 2024-25 season.

“Best Friends is dead,” Caldwell said.

Junior Colin Mukushina gives his view on the decline of Best Friends energy during the 2024–25 season.

“[The athletes or coaches] didn’t bring it up much, but it was sort of like, holding on a little bit. … And then a few kids either still had it in the back of their head or followed that. And that’s what helped with the revival that’s happened,” Junior Colin Mukushina said.

Senior Jonathan Robinson agrees that a revival of Best Friends exists on the team to a certain degree. That initial connection and team bonding between the freshmen and senior classes was not entirely present to him.

“The [freshmen this year] did revive best friends within themselves. … But I know that as a senior, I don’t feel like we connected with the class of 2029 as much as three years ago when my class connected with the [seniors in 2023],” Robinson said.

Assistant coach Greg Maloney, who’s been coaching alongside Coach Caldwell for many years, agrees that the camaraderie on the team between the athletes is present, however, he’s not totally persuaded.

“I think it’s back. I’m not totally convinced, but I feel that the culture is there, and I feel that it’s meaningful and genuine. … What I see now is actual, genuine support amongst all levels, and especially the buy-in, especially from the younger groups, whereas I don’t think we’ve seen that in years past,” Maloney said.

Head coach Brian Caldwell shares a similar view with Maloney and Robinson.

“I think we’re getting there. I think it’s definitely that mentality and that team camaraderie is definitely in the best place it’s been, probably since that idea originated a few years ago. … If I’m being honest about it, I don’t think we’re quite there yet,” said Caldwell.

While the coaches see it growing and essentially have no part to “push the culture,” as Caldwell put it, older athletes like senior Andrew Erdal, who has been running since his freshman year, are a little more optimistic about the revival of Best Friends.

“I feel like it’s brought the team back together for me, personally. … I get the adrenaline rush every time [we] do the chant, which is very good, ‘cause it makes me less tired during the race,” said Erdal.

Sophomore Jakub Kranz, who is a part of the DuPage Stars Hockey Club and cross country, doesn’t see Best Friends influence his running, however, it does motivate him to stay close to the team.

“I mean yeah, the community and staying close together, that definitely helps, you know?” Kranz said.

The Best Friends-like mentality has also had an influence outside of the boy’s cross country team. For example, senior Jurate Davies who has been exposed to Best Friends through friends on the cross country team, recalls an incident at the Lemont Lithuanian Girl Scouts retreat during the summer of her freshman year.

She had a twenty-dollar bill in the back of her phone case. Davies recalled finding out the money from her phone case had been stolen after her friend asked her if she wanted to go to the camp store during a break. She spoke up that her money was missing at a campfire later; more of the scouts began stepping up and also announced that their money had been stolen.

“It surprised me to see how many people were accusing each other, because it was just, like, back-and-forth stuff. And it was from most of the older girls, who were supposed to be, like, role models for us, and we ended up being the people who were most truthful,” Davies said.

It was later revealed that a younger scout, about the age of four, stole money from the phone cases to buy candy from the camp shop. Davies discloses the fact that her friends had stuck together and remained truthful to each other throughout the entire experience.

“We just got our counselor ties this summer. … We’re gonna try to bring that best friend’s thing to the new younger scouts.” Davies said.

With the boy’s cross country season coming to an end in the upcoming weeks, the team’s top seven will be running at sectionals on Nov. 1st. Best Friends comradery is growing, but not entirely there, according to the coaches and some students.

“We can talk about it. We can encourage it, we can, you know, do our best to foster it, but it has to come from the athletes,” said Caldwell.