The Alamo Heights cross country season has unfortunately come to an end. Coach Olvetti, the cross country coach at The Junior School for three years, is very happy with this year’s successful results. “We won two districts; both 7th graders won district, and the 8th-grade boys got 2nd,” Coach Olvetti said. He believes the trick to encouraging the young athletes is to tell them that they are going to do great and win.

To perform so well throughout the season, the athletes needed to endure difficult training sessions. “Yeah, Coach Gilbert’s and my practices are pretty tough,” said Coach Olvetti. Some of these practices included running around the track, running to the local high school, and running to and around the elementary school. Another challenge the team faced was getting picked for meets. The athletes had to participate in weekly time trials unless the meets were open, which meant everyone could run.

Districts weren’t the only success the team experienced this year. “We were dropping times from meet to meet,” explained Coach Olvetti. He also noted that one of the most important factors in the team’s success was runners stepping up and becoming leaders.

Unfortunately, with good things come bad things, and with every athletic season come injuries. “Injuries hit us hard; kids aren’t used to running three miles a day,” said Coach Olvetti. Some of the star runners suffered injuries, which impacted the team significantly, but with all their skill, the runners still stayed strong throughout the season.

Overall, both coaches are looking forward to seeing what this group of kids can do in the future. “Middle school is more about building a program for the high school, and I think we accomplished that. I’m excited to see what the kids can do next year,” said Coach Olvetti. Considering that middle school was primarily training for these kids, I’m also very excited to see what they are capable of doing in high school.