The girls cross country team started the year with a two-mile meet on Monday, where sophomore Brittney Kennedy and junior Madison Grumich placed as the top two runners for the team. Kennedy placed 18th and Grumich took the 35th spot.

“[The meet] went pretty well, but a lot of us were sick so some of our times weren’t as good as expected,” Grumich said.

At the girls first meet, the team was able to recognize things that they can continue to work on throughout the season.

“It showed us what some of our weaknesses are,” Grumich said. “It also showed the new additions to the team what it is like to race.”

As the season goes on, the girls are using their strengths and weaknesses to establish goals for the year.

“Our goal is to have some state qualifiers and keep dropping our times from the previous seasons,” Grumich said.

The team’s goals are not only based on their performance, but also as a team as a whole.

“We are going to try and be more like a team when we are running,” Kennedy said. “A lot of the JV runners will just stay back and run with their friends and we’re going to make them feel more like a team, rather than just a JV runner.”

The girls team’s close relationships contribute to the team this year because it helps unify them as a whole.

“The team is super tight knit this year. We are literally like a family. Megan, our senior, is trying a lot this year to bring the team together which is good,” Kennedy said.

The girls next race will be at 4 p.m. tomorrow at McNair for their second meet of the season.