9/19/13
CHALLENGES: Cross country athletes train hard to live up to the expectations set last year.
By Jorge Carreon, Staff Writer
As the boys’ and girls’ cross country teams start the new season, many athletes feel the pressure of running on the varsity level. “Our boys’ team is pretty young and we had a lot of seniors this year that graduated, so we have a lot of young students coming up to the varsity level and they’re going to have to step up their game so that they can continue this new tradition,” Assistant Coach John Enyeart said. “This year we put more mileage over the summer than we ever had with our teams in the past.” Since the team consists of many young athletes, this additional mileage will help them prepare better for their races.
Although the seniors last year set high expectations, many young athletes feel confident with the hard work they put in over the summer. “We have a young varsity team mostly filled with juniors and sophomores so it’s a lot of pressure to make sure that we stay on top of it and keep training. Hopefully we can win league and live up to the expectations of our varsity team last year,” Poly cross country athlete Kyle Mackechnie (10) said. With the extra running put in during the summer, both teams are developing athletes with great potential. Athletes now struggle to find a spot on the varsity team. “It’s challenging to be varsity on the girls’ side because this year there’s about ten or twelve girls that are possibly varsity so its always changing so it’s hard to stay up at the top,” athlete Sophie Hrinko (10) said. With the constant changes on the varsity level for the girls’ team, the most hardy of racers will be needed in order for the team to remain on top.