With some veteran runners coming back, the Farmersville cross country team is eager to show its competitive spirit in 2022.

The team finished fifth overall at the District 13-4A meet last season but graduated just one senior from the roster. This season, coach Nordin is excited to see how they’ve improved.

“We started practice July 18, but the kids did some running on their own before that, and we’ve been able to put a lot of miles in the last two weeks,” Nordin said. “We have some older runners who have some meet experience, so hopefully that will make us more competitive.”

For the boy’s team, junior Amon Odom is the top returning district runner. He finished 21st overall and hopes to improve on that mark in 2022. Seniors Julian Vasquez and Logan Lane also return to the team, along with juniors Zackary Gennette, Logan Conner and Bryan Mujica. Joining the team this season is senior Max Arcand, junior Jacob Watkins and freshman Cullen French.

The team is working hard this summer to prepare for the new season and coach Nordin praised his team for putting the work in to be a competitive team

“Cross country is hard and it requires a lot from the kids,” Nordin said. “We really appreciate them for putting so much time and effort into it.”

The girls team brings back plenty of experience as well for head coach Sandra Hoge. Led by junior Aubrey Varner, who was the lone qualifier for the regional meet last season. She also had a standout track season for the team, qualifying for the regional meet in the spring as well.

Varner finished ninth at the district meet last season and should finish in the top 10 again this season. She’ll be joined by juniors Emma Tanner and Kim Hernandez, along with sophomores Ashlynn Clark and Emily Brooks who return for the team. Clark was the next top finisher for Farmersville at the district meet, running in 22nd.

The team will also add two track runners, junior Savanah Johnson and sophomore Jenniel Soto, but both runners are new to cross country. Soto was a member of the area qualifying 4×400 cross country team for the spring.

The team starts the season this Saturday, Aug. 13, with a meet at Skyline High School. The team is scheduled to compete in 10 meets this season, including the district championships on Oct. 24. Coach Nordin hopes the team can continue to work to improve their times before the district meet.

“Aubrey qualified for regionals last year, and she hopes to again,” Nordin said. “We’ve got a handful of boys who have that in their sights as well, and that will be motivation for them throughout the season.”

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