Last Friday, the Gator Cross Country team competed at Friday Night Lights in Kernersville, North Carolina. This is a huge meet where the top runners around North Carolina compete against the top talent in the state. Select runners on the team received the opportunity to run in both the JV and Varsity races.

The girls varsity team did phenomenal, Jr. Sayde Wortman and Soph. Naomi Greengrass both had very strong races. Along with a small spread from the rest of the girls, it allowed the team to place 4th overall.

The boys varsity team worked hard to hit big personal records and improve. The runners had very small spreads finishing mere seconds away from each other. Sr. Captain Davis Hunter spoke on the boys race. “Our team ran pretty solid, with significant improvements from last Friday Night Lights. I feel like we can use that as motivation to push ourselves even farther to reach the next level.”

Overall, both teams had very solid performances during the first 5K of the season. Coach Barish even had a few thoughts on the Gators recent races. “It was a very great start to the season. I felt that this meet really helped us to grab an understanding on the importance of pack running, which we are going to continue to use throughout the fall.” Both the boys and girls cross country teams have taken phenomenal strides to accomplish big things this season.