With the hot sun beating against their faces and long miles awaiting them, the cross country team started training for another season.

“I am very excited for this year,” sophomore Andrea Garcia said. “We have a lot of expectations, and we’ve been working hard all summer long.”

The team will be  attending  the Regional Preview meet this weekend, which is the biggest meet in the state of Texas. They will run against 1A through 4A schools from across the region.

“The regional preview meet is one of the toughest meets we will have,” junior Daniela Reyes said. “ The course is very difficult to run in and runners who are nationally ranked will be there.”

The XC girl’s team is aiming to win the district champ title and advance farther this year than last year. The runners have decreased their time by two minutes every meet so far. They girl’s ideal time for the two-mile race is 12-13 minutes.

“Last year we were all surprised we went to regionals, because we were just so young,” sophomore Sheri Donaldson said. “This year we have higher goals, and we are way better than last year.”

Within the past two years, the cross country team has grown. Having 15 members in high school and 24 member in junior high is a huge accomplishment for them.

“I am very happy more kids are being involved in cross country,” senior Tyler Sanders said. “A bigger team means bigger goals.”

The team practices during and after school, and practices get tougher every time.

“Of course practices are hard,” sophomore Jose Sanchez said. “But we are willing to put in all the work and effort.”