The Fans

At every cross country meet there are fans. But the cross country fans pictured below are some of the loudest, craziest fans out there. You guessed it: They're the Leones.

Kathleen (right) and her friend wait for the runners to pass. And when they do, you can count on these two to be jumping up and down and screaming their lungs out.

Some of the youngest fans were also some of the cutest.

Lucia was never run from point to point so fast as she was at those meets when we wanted to get to the best vantage points quickly.

Okay, this fan just looks exhausted.  

And then there are the Leone fans who decided to enter the "open race" after the official meet had wrapped up. Check out Andrew booking it down the finish line.

And Joe makes his move on this woman in the closing stretch. 

And did you ever see such a face on a runner? That's my man, Joe, competing in the open race—in hiking boots, no less—and making it interesting for everyone.

William Runs Cross Country

As a sixth grader, William debuted in his first year of cross country with Holy Family Warriors. A natural runner, William had a ton of fun in his first year.

We are proud of William, our runner! He did consistently well all season.

William's pal helps him stretch pre-race.

The middle schoolers, ready to race. 

Ready, set, run!

William sprints to the finish.

After a hard-run race.

Anna Marie Runs Cross Country

This year marked Anna Marie's second year running cross country for the Holy Family Warriors.

Anna set personal records consistently throughout the season and was very pleased with her strength and improvement over the season. After the groin injury last season, Anna Marie was happy that she remained healthy this year. Her shin splints started catching up with her at the end, but not enough to take her out of any meets.

We are so proud of you, Anna Marie!

Anna Marie (center) and friend, post-race.

Run, Anna, Run!

Anna Marie is enjoying her first season of cross country. Her season began early, as the team began training together in mid-June. Her training regimen was intense, with daily trainings during June and July, followed by twice-a-day training sessions during much of August.

All that training resulted in a seriously well-conditioned team, and Anna Marie felt great and was eager for her first meet at the end of August. However, all that training took a toll on our first-year runner, and Anna Marie ended up with a pretty serious groin pull just a few days before the first meet. Sadly, she missed participating in her first four meets and had to miss almost a month of practices.

Just last Saturday, she ran in the fifth meet of the season—her first. It was the hilliest and most challenging course in these year's line-up, so it was a brutal way to start her season. Even so, Anna Marie showed grit and determination and finished strong. We were all so proud of her. As I type, she is preparing for her second meet, and the groin injury seems to be behind her.

Run, Anna, run!

Anna Marie (front, fourth from the right) with her cross-country teammates.