The Cross Country season set off on Sept. 12, 2020, at the Melissa XC Invitational held at the Z-Plex.

Soph. Abi Bass took first place despite the muddy course.

“I was pretty happy with my performance this weekend,” Bass said. “It was hard to tell how well I did because of the time difference from the mud, but overall I felt really good and had a fun race.”

Although team scores were not calculated, the girls team did well with runners taking first, third and fourth place.

“As a team, we did very well,” senior Madeline Graham said. “Our knowledge of the course and the racing conditions helped us succeed.”

The team has been preparing all summer for this season and even during some of last spring when COVID-19 cancelled track season.

“I have prepared for this season by doing many miles of training over the summer and last spring during what would have been the track season,” senior Judson Greer said. “I was also able to spend three weeks of the summer training at altitude, so that was fun and good for building fitness.”

Overall, the team will continue to train and improve for the rest of the season.

“There are many ways that we are always improving,” soph. Madison Aldredge said. “One thing I am always working on is my mental state for races. I get so nervous at the starting line that sometimes I don’t run as well as I know I can. I’ve been tracking all of my workouts over the summer so that I can look back on them and see how much better I’ve gotten.”