By Bianca Hanania – Staff Reporter

The Jonathan Law girls cross country team is excited to work harder than ever this season.

After practicing and running for miles, the team is finally ready to compete against of the rest of the SCC.

“We are extremely determined this year to improve and become a stronger and more competitive team,” junior Taylor Haase said.

Each student is required to run five miles every day. They have been working on more speed workouts to boost themselves.

The team is motivated to win against Foran, one of their top competitors.

“I am really looking forward to competing against Foran again,” freshman Samantha Franzman said. “Even though we have already went against them twice, they are one of our largest rivals so beating them would be a big win for the team.”

There are 16 runners on the girls cross country team and each of them motivates one another to never give up.

“Cross country is a true definition of a family, we all treat each other like sisters,” Haase said. “We have each other’s backs no matter what.”

They truly encourage everyone to participate in the sport.

“Joining cross country gave me a great opportunity to try something new and make new friends,” Franzman said.

The team’s coach, Mr. Schulte, makes sure the team gets the practice they need no matter what it takes.

The girls cross country team is very hardworking and industrious. They are constantly preparing themselves to kick off this exciting new year.

The captains, Lauren Parades and Amita Sastry, are excited for the season and ready to take on the new year as leaders.

“As a captain I have to try and encourage the girls to work hard and do their best,” said Paredes, a junior. “They have been doing really well this season, our times have been getting better and better.”

Sastry has been a four-year member of the team and is thrilled to now be captain.

Haase suffered an injury prior to cross country season and this is her first season coming back to running full time. She has struggled due to her ACL injury but is working really hard to get back into it.

“Even though I just got cleared to run in meets, my knee has always been in a lot of pain,” Haase said. “But I can’t wait to get back on track.”