St. Ambrose Academy has four cross country teams for the 2008-2009 cross country season:

* Senior High JV Boys
* Senior High JV Girls
* Junior High Boys
* Junior High Girls

The head coach is Athletic Director Grant Emmel, the Assistant Coach is principal Scott Schmiesing. The inaugural Fall 2008 season of the St. Ambrose Cross Country teams were covered in the following article which appears courtesy of the Diocese of Madison Catholic Herald:

Running the Race and Keeping the Faith: Cross Country at St. Ambrose Academy

One of the most compelling metaphors for living the Christian life is offered by St. Paul, who repeatedly compares faith to running a race. For example, in his letter to the Hebrews he says, "Persevere in running the race that lies before us." The powerful image of the athlete giving his whole being to the contest has inspired Christians through the centuries. In this spirit, St. Ambrose Academy has inaugurated its first cross-country season, with junior and senior teams for boys and girls competing in cross-country invitationals across southern Wisconsin.

New St. Ambrose principal Scott Schmiesing has brought energy and vision to the Academy's sports programs, and he believes the hard work is paying off. "It was great to see the students improving their times each week and encouraging fellow classmates to improve," said Schmiesing. "Some of these students had never run competitively before, and for them to finish a race of 2-3 miles says a lot about their dedication, discipline, and character." He added with a smile, "Fully one third of the St. Ambrose student body participated in cross-country!"

Athletic Director Grant Emmel explained that St. Ambrose Academy has set important goals for its sports program, which he views as a school of life. "We want our students to learn to respect and care for their bodies, which are made in the likeness and image of God," Emmel said. "When the going gets rough, athletics teaches students courage and perseverance. They develop loyalty and love for their fellow students as well as respect for authority, and they witness to their faith by sincere sportsmanlike conduct." In pointing to the many popes and saints who praised and participated in athletic endeavors, Emmel specifically mentioned Pope Pius XII, who summed up the purpose of athletics in the Christian life: "Sport, properly directed, develops character, makes a person courageous, a generous loser, and a gracious victor; it refines the senses, gives intellectual penetration, and steels the will to endurance. ... Sport is an occupation of the whole person, and while perfecting the body as an instrument of the mind, it also makes the mind itself a more refined instrument for the search and communication of truth."

St. Ambrose students, most of whom have no prior cross-country experience, have repeatedly found themselves racing against hundreds of determined and experienced athletes at area meets, and they learned to respond with courage and fortitude. "I had never run a race or really even run at all before joining cross-country at St. Ambrose," said one of the senior high boys on the team. "After my first race, I could hardly walk! But by the end of the season, I had cut six minutes off my race time. It was a challenging experience, and I grew a lot from it. It tested my perseverance."

Building up a comprehensive sports program is important to the overall mission of St. Ambrose Academy. Schmiesing pointed out, "We are called 'a soldier of Jesus Christ' at the sacrament of Confirmation. The physical challenges that a soldier goes through are similar to what the cross country team members went through this past season. This experience will prepare them for the mental and physical challenges they will encounter in their future vocations."

Athletics at St. Ambrose Academy is about much more than exercise, strengthening the body, competing, and winning. Athletes do these things "to win a perishable crown," says St. Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians, "but we an imperishable one." To this end, the hard work of sports through discipline forms the will, which in turn supports spiritual formation. The St. Ambrose runners consistently mentioned how the experience has built character. A sophomore runner commented, "Running cross-country taught me to keep going even when it hurts. This applies to our daily lives, especially when we face tough challenges." A new 7th grade student at St. Ambrose pointed out some of the other benefits: "It helped me meet people at the school and feel involved with the community."

St. Ambrose Academy is working toward membership in WIAA. Emmel, who also coaches the team, observed, "We're following all the WIAA rules and guidelines and expect to submit our paperwork later this fall." St. Ambrose sports teams have participated in contests with both WIAA and non-WIAA schools. Schmiesing noted that this fall's cross country team is "a stepping stone to adding more sports to the St. Ambrose Academy Athletic Program. The high school boys are now talking about what it will take to start a basketball team." [Note: latter that year a Boys basketball team was formed.] Girls basketball, inaugurated in 2007, will begin its second season soon.

The cross-country team wrapped up its fall season in mid-October by running in the Baertschi Invitational in Albany, a large meet with 22 schools. Coach Emmel exhorted the students to make their last race a great one. He called their attention to running the race as Catholic Christians: "You've been suffering for yourselves all season. Today, when you are suffering, offer it up for someone else. Use your pain to help someone else. Offer it up." Angela Hineline, whose junior high daughter is on the team, happened to overhear Coach's words, and they touched her deeply. "Watching my daughter listen to his words made the entire season a success," she said.