The nerves are trembling, the mind is racing, and the excitement is out of control. The gun fires and they are off, through the muddy and rainy terrain. Welcome to cross country – the sport where people run for fun.

The cross country team, which consists of 13 runners, has gotten used to training at the crack of dawn for their early Saturday morning races.

The team typically runs about four miles at morning practice, so individually the runners are putting in about 30-50 miles per week. Practices began the second week of August, but the team got together at various locations all throughout the summer to participate in long runs.

“The team has just started and already has shown great improvement from last year,” cross country coach Dena Adkins said.

Qualifying for State is the team’s main goal for the season. Last year, the boys and girls teams both qualified for Regionals and sophomore Eli Peveto advanced to State, where he ran the best time for all freshmen.

In order to achieve their goal this year, the team has to deal with various obstacles, such as competitive teams, the elements of nature and maintaining a high level of motivation.

“I anticipate that I will have four boys make it all the way to State this year with Eli leading the way,” Adkins said. “The girls are working hard and I believe if they keep pushing each other, good things can happen.”

The team not only spends time together outside of practice to run, but also to watch fireworks, movies, and go to haunted houses. They have become a close-knit group of friends who always push each other to be the best they can be.

“I love the atmosphere of our team,” Peveto said. “It’s so nice. It’s like a family. It’s definitely better than anything I’ve seen before.”