ETV News stock photo by Jeff Barrett
The cross country team has been hard at work throughout the summer, putting in the miles in preparation for the upcoming season. The Lady Spartans are especially eager to get going after a large number of individuals joined the team.
“We’re excited because we are going to have about 12 girls on our team,” said head coach Kristy Guymon. “We gained three phenomenal freshman, which will help us out a ton, and we have pretty much everyone returning from last year, plus a couple other new girls too.”
Not only will it be nice to have the numbers on the girls’ side, but it will also help strengthen the individual runners. As the girls run in meets and practice, they now have the opportunity to push each other to greater heights. “We’re super excited about the girls’ team. They’re going to be a good, solid team,” added Guymon.
It is hard for any team to lose an athlete that was breaking school records, and that is what the boys’ team faces this year. “We lost Jess [Christiansen], that was a big loss,” said Guymon. “We’re hoping some of our guys can step up and fill in those holes. Cam [Larsen] is looking really good. He’s been working really hard and same as Jack [Christiansen].”
In addition to the returners, there are five freshman that joined the ranks and it will be intriguing to watch them develop.
The Spartans are in one of the most competitive regions with the likes of Carbon and Richfield. The Lady Dinos finished second in state last year and only look stronger as the season approaches. On the boys’ side, Richfield returns as the reigning region champs while the Dinos were the runner-ups. It might be an uphill battle for Emery, but Guymon looks at the stiff competition as a positive, not a negative.
“We have a tough region, that only makes us better,” she said. The overall objective for both teams is to make it to state. In order to qualify, the Spartans will need to finish in the top three in region, a goal that is certainly within reach.
“We’re just excited to get back at it,” Guymon concluded. “Those who’ve been showing up to summer practices work hard every single day. It’s going to be a good season for both our boys and girls. All their hard work is going to pay off.”