On Friday August 29, the Cross Country team had their First Capital meet in McNair Park. Over 300 runners ran in the meet including schools like Howell, Howell Central, and Fort

Zumwalt East.

“I did better than I thought I would coming into the meet,” sophomore Bryan Chac said. “The team did great as a whole. We got second place in the meet so that is something to be proud of.”

Junior Chase Powelson came in 9th, coming in as the top runner for FHN, with Bryan Chac, Blake Coonrod and Timmy Bries following closely behind. The Varsity team came in second place with a total of 119 and an average of 19 minutes and 15 seconds per person.

“I think I did good, it was my first cross country race so I’ll probably get better from there,” sophomore Blake Coonrod said. “I’m learning how to pace myself better with experience.”

Brenda Alvarado came in 6th place earning the top spot for the girls at FHN. Freshman Heidi Hauptman and senior Ariel Kirkpatrick coming in behind. Overall, the girls came in third place earning a score of 158 and an average 22 minutes and 56 seconds per race.

“I think that for our first meet of the season we did well, but because of the heat our times weren’t what they should’ve been,” junior Jessie Define said. “I can’t wait to see what we can do next week.”

The Cross Country prepared for the season by running three to six miles in practice and also worked on their abs, and legs before they ran at practice. Some practices were delayed or moved to the morning because of heat advisories.

“I am really happy and proud that I got on the varsity team as a freshman for the first race. I feel like my coaches prepared me and my teammates really well. I feel like I did pretty well for the first meet of the season,” freshman Heidi Hauptman said. “I am really happy and excited with my placing and I feel like my time was pretty good too. I can’t wait to see myself progress throughout the season and I am glad that I get to do it with such an amazing team.”