The cross country team gets ready for a new season and a new competition.

The cross country teams spent their summer training hard and are ready to have a great season.

“So far this cross country season has been one of the hardest,” senior Matisse Ward said. “But we are all ready to put our training to work and we are ready to have an amazing season.”

While the majority of students spent their summer mornings sleeping in, students in athletics, such as the cross country teams, had to get up early, head to school, and workout all morning, like it was any other school day.

“We began cross country training in June,” junior Zita Agnevall said. “We usually ran long mileage or workouts.”

The cross country team had to get up early, from 6:30 to 8:00 am, from June through August. During this time they did extensive workouts consisting of long runs, abs, and other exercises to stay in shape and get stronger.

“We get into our separate training groups based on skill level and we do our workouts,” sophomore Micah Parks said. “It’s exhausting, but you feel good after a workout.”

Over the summer the team was also able to get acquainted with the freshmen and others joining the team this year to develop a sense of unity and bond as a team.

“This is a good time to bond with the team and get to know the incoming freshmen,” Agnevall said.

Goals for this year vary from team to team, but for the most part, all the teams are striving to get better times, better scores and improve both individually and as a team. Varsity hopes to win districts and to score top three in the region. They also hope that all the top runners break 20 minutes in the 5ks.

“The goals for JV are to place top 2 at districts,” Agnevall said. “And to break 22 minutes in the 5k.”

The teams have had intense workouts all summer long, working on getting faster, pushing each other, and getting to know their strengths. This season they hope to go undefeated and will do what it takes to have a great season. The first meet was on August 17th, and their latest was September 5th.

“Throughout my time in cross country I have been motivated to achieve many things I never knew were possible and I owe it all to them,” Ward said. “This year I hope to make the most of every race and of every moment we spend together.”