The NWN had the chance to check in with girls varsity cross country head coach Anne Heselton to discuss the team’s progress thus far this season, and their goals moving forward.

NWN:  How does the team look this year?

Heselton: The team is looking to improve upon last year’s team performances.  We will need to work hard to close the gap between our 1st through 5th runners.

 NWN: Who are some of the team’s biggest leaders and contributors this year?

Heselton: [Senior]Christine Mujica is our top returning athlete.  She qualified for state last year and is looking to improve her finish at the state meet. [Senior] Katherine DeLara is one of our team captains and one of our top runners. [Junior] Nicole Camburn has been our 2nd runner for the first 2 meets.

 NWN: What role do underclassmen play in this year’s varsity team?

Heselton:This is very new to many of the underclassmen, so we are looking for steady improvement throughout the season.

 NWN: How do you keep runners motivated to get better?

Heselton: It is very objective… students can see if they are running faster than last year on the same course.  When they see that they are improving, it motivates them to push harder in practices.

 NWN: How has the new school schedule affected the team’s progress this season?

When school started, so did practice.  This meant students were not away on family vacations and were able to be at practice from the start.

 NWN: How was last season and how do you hope on expanding it this season?

Heselton: Working all athletes to improve their times will help us to improve our overall team finishes from races.

NWN: Is there a meet the team is looking particularly forward to participating in?

Heselton: As always, students look forward to the Pat Savage Invite which is our big home meet with 30+ schools in attendance. They also look forward to conference because for most of them, that is there last meet.

NWN: Where would you like to finish this season record wise and in the postseason?

Heselton: I would like to finish in the top half of our conference and have our team advance from regional to sectionals.

The girls next meet is this Saturday, the “First to the Finish” meet, at 9 am.