Being a runner means wanting to push through and get to the end of the line while still being first. The Cross Country team has been to 6 meets so far this season, and if they make it to nationals they will have 9 meets left. To be on the team, athletes must be committed. They run all summer and have practice every morning at 6 a.m. and usually have the month of May off.

The varsity boys and girls teams have been doing extremely well in their meets. Both the girls and boys varsity teams achieved Cross Country Coach Keith Boenisch’s goal of qualifying for regionals.

“As a coach I love seeing our kids work really hard and being successful every year,” Boenisch said.

Senior Austin Gatewood’s best time is 18:01 for a 5K,PR(personal record) is a 17:47. He said the people around him push him to run everyday. His favorite thing is being able to do what he loves and what he is good at, running.

“I’ve been running with most of these people for 4 years and they are just practically a family to me,” Gatewood said. “Personally my season is going good, I have a lot more time to improve and get better.”

Junior Alynda Martinez said that she pushes herself every day more and more to make sure she makes progress. She always feels prepared and excited for her meets.

“I do a 2 lap warmup jog on the track and do knee pulls, pigeon stretch and touch my toes in order to get ready for my meet,” Martinez said.

Coach Boenisch added that everyone enjoys going to Lubbock and Decatur, which is also when they run the fastest.

“The people are my favorite part of cross country,” freshman Lance Smither said.

With this, he also added that Lubbock has been his favorite track meet so far.

“In that meet I also ran a 22 flat and it has been my best distance so far this season,” he said.