Photo by Eric Inumerable
You might have seen your classmates running up and down the streets of 4S Ranch — that’s the Cross Country team, doing what they do best.
Head Coach Chris Jacobs said that the team met five days weekly over summer. Commenting on changes made in the training schedule, Jacobs replied, “There was an increase in mileage…and intensity in our tempo and speed work.” Varsity athletes average around eight miles a day; the boys team sometimes runs for 70 minutes.
Last year the boys team finished 7th at CIF Finals and the girls finished 6th. This year, Jacobs says he would like to place among the top three teams in CIF competition, which would send the team to the state meet.The current school record for the standard five kilometer race is held by Mark Quiroz (11), with a time of 16:32. Quiroz hopes to reduce his time to a blazing 15:30, a goal he believes is possible in part due to the removal of fried foods and soda from his diet.
Look for big things from your Nighthawk cross country team this year.