The varsity cross country team waited at the starting line early in the morning at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock filled with adrenaline while they waited for the sound of the gun.

The varsity girls cross country team and junior runner boys runner Harris Cohorn participated in the UIL 6A Region 1 Cross Country Championship race in Lubbock on Oct. 20 and 21.

The varsity girls team finished 16th overall with a team score of 432, and Cohorn placed 61st individually with a time of 16:39.20.

Cross Country coach Aleyh Christopher said she was proud of the performance she saw from her team. She also said that the overall team culture contributed to runners improving their times this season.

“Just all of the girls walking in with each other [to practice], pushing each other at practice, pushing each other, and me staying positive,” Christopher said. “And just really being up-lifting.”

Cohorn said at the start of the season he didn’t know where he wanted to be as a runner.

“I was kind of lost,” Cohorn said. “And as the season progressed, I slowly started to figure out where I needed to be, where I wanted to be.”

Freshman Jolie Rosenzweig said that her goals for the season were to grow as an athlete both mentally and physically. Her goal for Regionals was to finish under 20 minutes running just shy of that at 20:03.40.

Junior Selah Martin said to motivate herself she relied on her coaches and teammates.

Cohorn said that part of his motivation was proving to himself that he belonged as runner.

“Motivation was just proving to myself that I’m one of the best runners in the district and then, just keep on going,” Cohorn said.

Martin said that she struggled with self doubt during the season but was able to push through.

“Honestly, sometimes throughout the year I would get in my head about my times,” Martin said. “And so in order to overcome those, I just had to think positively, and really just put it out on the course.”

Rosenzweig said it was challenging to balance her extracurricular activities and to push her body and her mind to the max.

“But I was able to do that work with the trainers, with my coaches, and they were all really helpful.” Rosenzweig said.

Christopher said the varsity girls had the biggest breakthrough.

“They only started off with two solid girls on varsity, and then, I made the decision to gradually move to a better time,” Christopher said.

Cohorn said that being the only boy helped him to focus better on what he needed to do to run his race.

“But I definitely miss having my team,” Cohorn said. “It would be fun to have them here with me.”

Cohorn said that his motivation was not only his parents but also his three little brothers.

“Everything they’ve done for me to get me to this point, I just try to do it for them,” Cohorn said.

Cohorn also said from this race he learned that he needs to train more with hills.

“I wasn’t ready, especially on that second lap,” Cohorn said. “My legs. I can feel the burn, and I just wasn’t ready for the hills.”

Christopher said the runners did workouts that specifically prepared them for the course they ran at regionals. They went to Flagpole Hill and did a workout focused on their heels to help them prep for the course they ran at regionals.

Cohorn said most of the prep they did was mostly to help keep their bodies fresh. They had a couple of good runs doing 800 repeats, meaning running two laps around the track repeatedly.

Christopher said by her staying positive and being a good coach her team was able to improve and work harder.

“It’s not just one person working hard now, it makes the second person the third and so on [work hard],” Christopher said.

Christopher said her runners are motivated for the next season.

“Nobody is graduating, so they’re even hungrier for next season already,” Christopher said.

Cohorn said he knows what he can improve on next year and learned what time he needs to run to be able to advance to state.

Rosenzweig said she learned a lot from this season that will help her to improve for next season.

“Blessed to be where I am,” Rosenzweig said. “Hopefully this time next year I’ll be on the same stage.”

Christopher said she was proud of how much her team has progressed.

“Even though we came up a little short with going to the state, they ended it very well,” Christopher said.