The starting gun can’t fire soon enough for Gables’ cross country team this year as they eagerly await premiering their skills at their first meet of the new school year. This highly anticipated meet will be taking place at MAST Academy.

MAST added cross country to their athletic program this year, and the Cavaliers are excited to see what kind of competition their new team has to offer. Other schools attending the meet include Miami Springs and Columbus, both of which are already well-established within the cross country community. As this meet closely approaches, the Coral Gables Cross Country Team has been working rigorously during practice to ensure that they are at the top of their game.

Practice began for these speedy Cavaliers the week before school began. Together they trained to get a head start on the season. Once school commenced, the runners immediately started congregating in front of the new building after 2:20 each day to patiently wait for practice to begin at 2:45.

A practice kicks off with a warm-up run, usually of about a mile. The runners then perform dynamics and stretch as a group. After they feel sufficiently stretched, they jump right into their workout for the day. Finally, they run to cool down and stretch once again.

Putting in all this work will hopefully assist this year’s team in their goal to earn the district title and advance to states. Gables’ cross country coach of eight years, Mr. Nelson, has big plans to bring the team to their full potential. The team is working, with his leadership, on making their weaknesses their strengths.

“Overall speed is always the biggest obstacle,” Nelson said. “[Our biggest competition this year is going to be] Lourdes for the girls and Coral Park for the boys.”

Last year, the team lost some seniors as they journeyed on to college, but plenty of fresh faces joined the team this year. Though it’s too early to tell, the new talent looks promising and they are evidently excited to be part of the team.

“I’m really excited to be a part of a great team and I know I will improve a lot being with them,” freshman and new cross country runner Sara Saliamonas said.

Combining hard work, optimism and new talent, Gables’ cross country team is geared up to have a great season. We can be sure to be hearing about their inevitable high-speed achievements soon. Just TRY and catch up with those Cavaliers!