Cross Country was not prepared for this season’s turnout. This year, there are 70 runners as opposed to last year’s 33. There are no cuts on Cross Country, but there are only seven Varsity spots. Varsity runners are chosen by individual running times, and Varsity spots can change before each race if runners improve their times.

“It is more competitive [than previous years] because so many people are running for seven spots, and sometime the coaches don’t  even run seven people,” senior Hannah Miller said.

Aside from the increased competition, another complication arose from the unexpected rise in numbers. Some runners did not have uniforms. The coaches had to purchase new uniforms to replace old uniforms and to have enough for the new runners.

One possible reason why there are more runners than usual this season could be that Hollenbeck Middle School started a track team
three years ago. The students that joined the Hollenbeck team as sixth graders are now freshmen at  FHN. Hollenbeck principal Woody Borgshulte has high hopes for the runners from Hollenbeck.