Just as the firing of a gun signals the start of a race, the district cross country meet signals the beginning of a journey for three runners. Seniors Josephine Guzman, Tristen Wood, and Gavin Been placed in the top ten in their respective races and each earned a spot in the upcoming regional race.

“I feel like I’m accomplishing my goal of getting to state,” Wood said. “District and regionals are just steps I had to and will have to take to get there.”

While running hard may seem like the only way to prepare for a meet, the runners prove that it takes much more than that to be ready to run, whether it be in district or at regionals.

“We’re running a lot more to prepare and doing ab workouts to strengthen our stamina and core,” Wood said. “But we’re also preparing mentally and trying to rally all the support we can.”

Support helps the runners accomplish their goals.

“I feel confident for this upcoming meet because I’ve been working harder than ever before and I have the support of so many people,” Guzman said.

Besides support, the runners need confidence in themselves to be successful.

“It was really exciting to advance to regionals,” Been said. “I know I have a good chance on advancing to state, and I believe that I can accomplish that goal if I try hard enough.”

State, for most runners, is a daunting goal to reach. For Guzman, however, getting to state this year would be a repeat of her junior season.

“My chances of returning to state are high because I’m ranked first in the region and top ten right now,” Guzman said. “It would be nice to win my senior year, but I really just want to improve my times.”