On Wednesday the campus cross country team started off the season at the Woodward Park 5K (3.1 mile) course, competing in the McLane Highlander Invitational, Sept. 4.

In the 128-runner boys varsity race, senior captain Tyler Laird finished ahead of the other Eagles, crossing the line in 21st place with a time of 18:49, followed by senior Rich Newman at 18:57. Fellow senior Codi Guidry followed with a time of 20:41. Junior Aaron Dewolf finished at 22:28, and Daniel Moore came last for the Eagles with a time of 24:10. Also, senior Aliciana Quintana ran a 33:56 in the varsity girls race.

Dewolf was relatively proud of his efforts in his first cross country meet. He emphasized the team’s high hopes for this season to possibly win their league.

“For my first race, I was pretty proud of how I did,” Dewolf said. “I didn’t meet my personal goal, but I was still happy with the overall result. I think as a team, we have a very good chance of winning league and competing in the state meet.”

Fourth-year coach Ross Laird was hoping for a stronger first run from the team, but said that he expects a faster pace in later meets.

“The meet didn’t go quite as well as I had hoped,” Ross said. “I thought that we were a little further along in training than we were, and that showed in the results. We just have a lot of work to do.”

Captain Tyler Laird was slightly more optimistic about the race, despite some nausea after running.

“For a first meet, I think it went pretty well,” Tyler said. “It was fairly humid, and I vomited afterward, so that wasn’t great, but otherwise, it was good. I think the team can continue to improve and grow stronger.”

The Eagles will next run in the Sanger Invitational, taking place at Avacado Lake, Sept. 20.

For more sports, read the Sept. 3 article, New changes lead to hopeful football season.