The boys cross country season has kicked off with a great start. The team has completed three events so far, including the PR Kickoff Invatational at Bull Run Special Event Center on Aug. 28 and The Monroe Parker Invitational at Burke Lake on Sept. 6. Boys Country coach David O’Hara sees the team improving greatly throughout the season, both physically as well as mentally.

“Our last meet was the Monroe Parker Invitational where we finished 22nd as a team,” O’Hara said. “The conditions were very hot and a few of our top runners had some difficulty with that.”

The team is training hard to become the very best that they can be and try to get ready for its next competition, making sure that all runners are keeping up with each other and that they are competing at their top performance.

“Right now there is too much distance between our number one runner and our number five runner,” O’Hara said. “Cross country is scored by adding all the places of your top five runners together with the lowest score winning so it is very important that you have a tight pack.”

Training has already started for the next meet, which is AHS vs. West Springfield vs. Lake Braddock on Sept. 17. The boys are doing their their training on the track as well as off the track.

“Right now we are in very hard training, usually with two to three hard track workouts a week as well as lifting weights and daily core strengthening,” O’Hara said. “Many of the races that the athletes run in September will be hit or miss on how they perform because we are training right on the edge of exhaustion.”

The runners are preparing for their first conference match on Sept. 17 as well as training for the Patriot Conference championships on Oct. 30 and the regional and state championship in early November.

“This training is necessary, however, so that when championship season starts in late October the athletes will be ready,” O’Hara said.

Since the season is only just beginning, the boys still have plenty of time to prepare for more upcoming meets and championships. The coaches as well as the players are looking forward to the rest of the season.

“The number one thing I always look forward to is seeing who steps up and improves the most during the course of the season. Someone always surprises me,” O’Hara said.

“We have four guys that are very competitive but we are looking for at a fifth guy that can bridge the gap and catch up to our top guys. If we can have someone to make that jump we will have a very successful season.”