With Cross Country getting ready to start, runners share how they feel with the upcoming season.
By: Fabian Anguiano
With Cross Country’s season on the verge of beginning, 4 cross country runner share their goals, how their pre-season went, and how they and the team can improve, including head Coach Tony Ramirez.
Cross Country girls runner Erika Rojas Perez, ’29, shares how she is feeling about her freshman season so far, “I’m feeling really excited because coach is saying that he is expecting great things from us and that he said it is going to be a good season.”
When did Perez first start doing cross country in the first place? She says, “I started doing cross country because of my older sister Miranda and she’s just a big inspiration for me.”
In Perez’s opinion, how has the team culture been, she says, “The team cultures been pretty good because the girls are really close, and everybody just knows each other.”
Some goals Perez has for the season is, “To break [to finish in less than] 20 in the 5k, and to make Varsity.”
What is Erika’s goal for the team as a whole? She says, “For all of us to just have a great team chemistry and to just knows each other.”
Perez had one last thing to say, “It’s gonna be a good season.”
Varsity boys’ cross country runner Aiden Salgado, ’28, shares how his off-season has been so far, “It’s been pretty good, I’m training hard.”
Is there anything Salgado can improve on by any chance? He says, “Probably my mentality, working harder.”
Is there anything the team can work on as a whole? “Running together, and trying harder.” He says.
What are Salgado’s expectations for himself this upcoming season? He says, “To get faster and break 18.”
What are Salgado’s expectations for the team as a whole? He says, “That we can all run 7:18’s [per mile].”
What is Salgado’s dream goal for this season? “To win EYL as a team.” He says.
Varsity boys cross country runner Andres Nino, ’27, shares how his off-season has been, “It’s been good.”
In Nino’s opinion, how has the team been doing in the off-season? He says, “The team has been good, I feel like we can go to state this year for the boys varsity team, and our off-season has been good, it looks like we got our speed back from this summer training and off last year.”
What are Andres’s goals for this upcoming season? “My personal goal is to break a 16 to 5k and to go state individually.” He says.
What are Nino’s expectations for the team as a whole this season? “To go to state.”
Is there anything Andres can improve on? “Probably just my ending for the 5k”
Is there anything the team can improve on? “No, the team’s looking good.”
Varsity girls cross country runner Jimena Leon,28’ shares how her off-season has been so far, “My off-season has been pretty good, it’s been good getting to know all the girls.”
Is there anything Leon can improve on? “I feel like I can improve on my endurance because I feel like my speed is pretty good but my endurance isn’t.”
Is there anything the team can improve on as a whole? “I feel like we’re all pretty good with each other, everybody’s pretty fast.”
How has the teams off-season been in Jimena’s opinion? “I think they’ve been bonding pretty good when we do out high mileage during the summer.”
What is Leon’s personal goal this season? “I just want to PR (personal record) this season.”
What is her goal for the team as a whole? “Bond with each other more.”
Cross Country head coach Tony Ramirez shares when he first started coaching cross-country, “I started coaching cross country nineteen seasons ago. I’ve been at Redwood for 10 seasons.”
What motivated Coach Ramirez to coach cross country in the first place? “My main motivation was that I wanted to be the kind of coach that I always wished I had. I wanted to give back to the sport that gave me so much, and just try to be a positive influence to all my runners.”
In Coach Ramirez’s opinion, how has the team’s offseason been so far? “Off-season was one of the best ones that I’ve ever had. Our numbers were good, we had max participation, we accomplished a lot of our goals, and we’re off to a great start.”
Is there anything the team can improve on? “It’s a pretty solid team overall. We’re young, it’s a young team, and there is a great vibe going on. I would say just say our main improvement will be getting into race shape, as we
Go, but it’s happening as we go; the team has been pretty committed.”
What are Coach Ramirez’s expectations for the team this season? “My expectations are growth, just growth and development, those two things, we’re not coming into this season expecting to win championships, that stuff will come as part of the process, so this is just a young team that we got and we’re just trying to experience those things, just a lot of growth and development.”
What is Coach Ramirez’s goal as a coach this season? “Same as always, just share all of my knowledge with the team and be as positive as I can, and just guide them to their goals.”
Fabian Anguiano
Fabian Anguiano '28,is a VERY passionate sportswriter and editor for the Redwood Gigantea. He is entering his third year with the Gigantea, and he likes motivating others and being involved in everything sports related. If you would like to reach him, just email him at [email protected]
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