Cross country found themselves at Lynn Creek Park on Thursday for the Ken Gaston Invitational, where the Redhawks found their steps and bounced back with a notable finish with the girls’ varsity team placing 1st.

“The kids looked great and they handled this course well,” coach Khera Vay said. “We’re gonna be getting back into the lab immediately and take advantage of these next 2 weeks so everyone is ready for competition at districts.”

Junior Sophie Lopez placed top 25 out of more than 120 racers in the girls’ varsity, and believes the team is in good shape for districts and regionals.

“The team did great yesterday, ending our non-district season like this is amazing because it’s keeping our spirits high heading into district preparation,” Lopez said. “We’re trying to see how we stack up against Independence and Lebanon Trail the most heading into districts, but we believe we’ll stack up well.”

On the boys’ side, sophomore Amogh Aryan has to touch up on some of his performance abilities to be ready for district week.

“I got a personal record so I’m somewhat happy, but I have to improve my mentality because I know I have the speed, but I don’t have the mental strength to carry through,” Aryan said. “The main goal is to make it all the way to state so everyone will be pushing each other these next two weeks.”