by Phoenix Bedolla
With a new school year comes a new season of sports, and for cross country, the future is looking bright. Last year’s team was quite successful, placing high not only in their league but valley-wide as well. Not only did the team statistically do well, but a bond of brotherhood formed. The team is aiming to maintain these high levels of comradery and keep their positivity intact coming into this season.
“Recruiting new members is a key part of improving from last year. We’re going to be better,” says Coach Jason Mironyuk. When discussing goals, Mironyuk said, “Obtaining top two in the league and top five in the valley...this will all come down to the size of the team and how well we’re motivating each other.”
Senior runner Noah McLaughlin has similarly high expectations for the team. “Expect us to do better than last season. I think we can obtain first or second in league,” said McLaughlin. “We’ll get there by starting practice early and getting in shape earlier, and we already know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, making it easy to build on last year.”
In order to execute these goals, Coach Mironyuk plans to maintain a rigorous practice structure. “We plan to run on the weekends as a team and running individually three to four times a week. Once the season starts, practice will more than likely take place every day,” he explained. Though there aren’t any meets planned for this semester, Mironyuk still wants his team in condition for meets that are scheduled after winter break. “We’re going to run The Jingle Bell Run in Fresno and the Kingsburg two-mile in January.”
In addition to preparing for these meets, McLaughlin is also looking forward to other aspects of the cross country team. “Number one thing is the car rides,” McLaughlin explains. “When you’re going to a race in a bad mood, you won’t do well, but the car rides always provide an uplifting mood.”
Needless to say, the cross country team is anxious to start running again and is excited to see where this season takes them!