The next cross country meet will be at Colony High School on Saturday, Oct. 1, at 8 a.m.

Sophomore Wesley Townsend has clocked the best boys team’s time of 18:02.02. Thirty-fourth overall at the Bakersfield Park meet on Sept. 17. However, Townsend said he hopes to get faster.

“I’m definitely wanting to improve my time, trying to get a time of 16:30 for a college scholarship,” Townsend said. “[To do that] I’m going to start running after school.”

Senior Alma Hernandez wants the same improvement as Townsend. Hernandez was the top girls runner for the school, 37th overall, at the meet with a time of 21:59.9.

“[I will] work much harder, and constantly practice,” Hernandez said. “[I’m willing to] give much more effort to improve. Whoever has the most guts wins. It takes a lot out of you, but all of us will get better.”

Coach Ray White has no doubts on exactly what he and his team desire to achieve this season: earning a spot at the regional meet.

“They put in lots of miles over the summer, and work even harder every morning at 7 a.m. It is not a sport for someone who lacks self-discipline,” White said. “They have to be able to push beyond what their mind tells them and break through pain barriers that many people refuse to come close to. We set goals each week that we will lead us to our goal of running regionals in Lubbock.”

The cross country teams ran at the Komen Race for the Cure on Sept. 24 to raise money for breast cancer research. They raised $1,000 towards the fund raiser. Townsend was excited about running for such a good cause.

“[It was] pretty cool. I was put on an interview with cameras and a microphone after the race,” Townsend said. “I’d definitely like to do it again.”

Hernandez agreed.

“[It was] amazing,” Hernandez said. “I’d love to do it again. It’s a privilege to be a part of this team. [It’s nice] to be part of something.”