As the cross country season begins, head coach Chris Nordstrom is excited to see the runners compete in races.

According to Nordstrom, training schedules vary depending on which meets they are preparing for.

“The training always starts off toughest to start the season. We focus more on quantity compared to quality early on,” Nordstrom said. “As the season goes on, that evens out more and when we get to our championship meets we focus strictly on quality training and less quantity.”

According to Nordstrom, runners trained all summer to prepare for races this upcoming season.

“Our varsity runners should be running five to six days a week throughout most of the summer, with other runners doing varying amounts of training based on (their) experience,” Nordstrom said.

Stephanie Reuter, a senior captain of the girls’ team, said she hopes to lead the team to a successful 2016 season.

“As a team I hope we can improve the place we got in our conference compared to last season,” Reuter said. “I also hope we have a lot of runners who get personal records because that’s always fun to see.”

Reuter said she led captains’ practices all summer and notices the team training hard and pushing its limits.

“Our team has a lot of younger runners that have been working hard, and I am hoping it will show in our race results,” Reuter said.

Nordstrom said he hopes to build on the boys’ varsity fifth place finish at the 2015 Metro West Conference Championship with another strong conference showing this season.

“Our goals are always to place well at the conference meet,” Nordstrom said. “We would like to finish near the top in both genders this season.”

Reuter said she feels her role as a captain is crucial in helping develop a team full of young runners.

“As a captain, I try to lead by example — cheer them on during races,” Reuter said. “I give them advice whenever they need it and am always willing to answer their questions.”

The next meet takes place at 4 p.m.Tuesday, Sept. 20 at Gale Woods Farm against Minneapolis Southwest.