By Emma Saley – Staff Reporter

Junior cross country captain Lauren Paredes is looking to improve in the off-season and hopefully go All-Division next year.

This past season, Paredes consistently ran well and improved, reaching many personal goals she had set for herself.

A highlight of Paredes’ season was when she ran her personal record, 22:40,  at the SCC meet.

“My personal goal was to run under 24 minutes in every race, which I achieved,” Paredes said. “As a team, our goal was for everyone to run well at SCCs and place in the top 20 at states, which we did.”

As captain, Paredes focuses on motivating the other girls on the team by pushing them to do their best every race, and working hard every practice to become better runners.

“Lauren cheers on and believes in everyone,” junior teammate Taylor Haase said  “She motivates us to do our best.”

Paredes has been running cross country for the past three years, but it wasn’t until her sophomore year that she started to prove herself as a runner, cutting her times down from 29:00s to 24:00s and 23:00s.

“Freshman year I was running 29:00s, but last year I worked hard and was able to really improve” Paredes said

Paredes is looking forward to next season, and hoping to improve by running long distance during the indoor and outdoor track seasons.

“To prepare for next season I’m going to be running a lot during off seasons and the summer, and participating in a lot of 5k road runs,” said Paredes.

One area she hopes to improve on is speed.

“I struggle most with sprinting, so I’m looking to work on that so I can have a stronger finish.”

Another challenge that Paredes is looking to overcome for next season is to beat cross-town rival Foran, which the team was unsuccessful in doing at the multiple meetings they had this season.

“Foran’s our biggest rival, but if we work hard during the summer we can beat them next year.” Paredes said

Paredes is already setting big goals and hopes for next season.

“My biggest goal for next season is to run under 22 minutes or better,” Paredes said “As a team I want everyone to improve, and run well at states again.”

Paredes is excited for the upcoming season, and for the team to continue to bond and motivate each other to run their best times.

“I love cross country and the girls on the team, and I can’t wait for next year,” said Paredes.