Beads of sweat dripped down the athletes? faces as they charged through the woods and over hills. Even as their clothing sticks to their skins, they continued to navigate through the terrain. Muscles started to cramp but that failed to deter them as they to ran toward the finish line.

Many students who trained throughout the summer have already signed up for cross country, a new sport offered on campus.

?For the past three years, I have been trying to start a cross country team,? Ericlee Gilmore, cross country coach, said. ?One of the main goals this year is to have enough people for a team and to improve our time throughout the season.?

Even though there is no limit of athletes on the team, at least five is required to compete and only four have signed up.

?This would be the first cross country team at Fresno Christian,? David Quenzer, ?07, said. ?I really wanted to be a part of this team because I want to increase my endurance.?

The practices for cross country will be held in Woodward Park and run from 3:30 to 5 PM. The cross country team will compete at their meets on a 3.1 mile prearranged course in Woodward Park.

?We are not going to compete only against schools in our division,? Gilmore said. ?So we will be facing teams that will be much larger then ours.?

Besides offering athletes a run through nature, cross country conditions athletes for other sports.

?If you need endurance for another sport cross country would help you with training,? Gilmore said. ?But besides conditioning athletes, I hope my students will learn to never give up and persevere through trials.?

Due to lack of intrest the cross country team has been cancelled, but track will start up in the spring.