Beads of sweat rolled off the faces of the Boys and Girls Cross Country teams as they headed into the final hour of the Relay for Life, a race dedicated to help fund research for cancer on July 26. Throughout the summer, the runners participated in many events and marathons to prepare themselves for the upcoming season and support a great cause.
Sophomore Adrian Preciado participated in the Huntington Beach 10K Marathon on July 27. Taking full advantage of his training with the team during the off-season, Preciado finished with a time of 40:46.
“During the race all I was thinking was to hurry and try to finish the race,” Preciado said. “Cross Country practice definitely helped me during the race.”
Last year, Preciado suffered a major setback when both of his lungs collapsed. He has had trouble breathing during practice, but it doesn’t damper his burning desire to train and improve. Preciado used the offseason to regain his form and is looking faster than ever.
With 42 new runners on the team, the Rams will be faced with challenges that come with inexperience throughout the upcoming season. Through practice the new members of the team have showed improvement over the course of the summer, but there are still doubts whether or not some of the freshmen can step up and perform at a higher level.
“The freshmen this year were cohesive,” Coach Mike Tomasulo said. “They tend to stick together during runs and I don’t know how good they are going to get in the future.”
Coach Tomasulo appointed Seniors Nancy Chin and Godwin Liang as team captains and they have already begun the process to lead by example. They prepare the team for the upcoming season by holding captain’s practices. Chin leads the team in drills such as bleacher miles, schoolers and core workouts.
“The purpose of core workouts was to strengthen the core so you can run longer distances,” Chin said. “It helps to endure the pain more.”
Liang wants the team to know that there is always room for improvement. Since the start of summer, Liang has improved his personal record and wants his teammates to follow his example and do the same.
“I think I have improved considerably this summer,” Liang said. “My 8 mile time has improved from 56 minutes to 55 and my 6 mile time has improved from 42 to 40. Coach’s practices have definitely helped me push to improve.”
The team has its first official meet on Sept. 19 at the Woodbridge Invitational at Estancia High School at 4:00 p.m.