Cross country headed to a familiar course to start the 2022 season at Friday’s Rock Hill Twilight Invitational. 

“The team did a really good job running against competition as each athlete ran hard and pushed their teammates to compete hard against other schools,” head coach Khera Vay said. “ I’ve told them to trust the process and keep doing what we do as it’s very early into the season.”

Leading the way for the girls was junior Sydni Wilkins, who placed fifth out of 74 racers in the girls’ elite varsity.

“I got fifth in the girls varsity elite race with a time of 11:55, and I was very satisfied with my result considering it was my first cross country race ever and I was top 5 out of 74 girls,” Wilkins said. “Hearing people on the sidelines cheering for other girls to try and pass me keeps me motivated and pushing to be faster.”

Finishing 35 out of 87 in the boys’ elite varsity, senior Andrew Jauregui believes this meet sets up a good foundation for the rest of the season.

“It was nice to compete against real schools again and it helped us see where we stack up in the region and district against other schools,” Jauregui said. “I think this first meet gave us a good base to build off for the rest of the season.”