The Central Heights cross country team finished their pre-district meets and are preparing for the District Meet on Wednesday, Oct. 11. The female runners are Micah Hayman, Marley Moody, and Alison Servantes. The boys’ team consists of Marcos Rivera, Alex Padilla, Luke Davis, Caleb Bowie, David Coleman, Oscar Padilla, Wade Holland, and Isai Lopez. They will run at Central High School against the seven other schools in the district. The top three teams will advance to the regional meet on Oct. 23-24.

Coach Kerry Gleason is excited about his team’s improvements and is ready for his first district meet as head coach. 

“We’ve definitely gotten a lot stronger since the start, but I think more importantly, we’ve gotten mentally tougher,” Gleason said. “We’ve learned to battle a little bit harder in our races and pushed ourselves a little bit more. The morale of the group is a lot stronger than when we started, and that comes from each member not just battling at meets but battling at practices.”

Freshman Marcos Rivera has worked hard all season for the district meet. He placed third in the Corrigan-Camden Invitational. The newcomer is a dual-athlete, also participating in soccer tournaments throughout the course of the season.

“I’m ready to get top three and go to Regionals,” Rivera said. “It’s been fun. It’s been hard waking up early, but it’ll be worth it.”

Freshman Micah Hayman placed first at the Corrigan-Camden Invitational and sixth at the Huntington Invitational. Her teammate, senior Alison Servantes, ran all four years of high school and is excited to see how her final season will play out.

“This year feels very special,” Servantes said. “I’m excited to see what happens next. I’ve made so many new friends and new memories.”

Junior Alex Padilla stepped up his game from last season and has run consistently all season long. He finished ninth place at the Huntington Invitational, 10th at the Corrigan-Camden Invitational, and 15th at the Central Invitational.

“I’d like to say thank you to all my coaches and teammates,” Padilla said. “I’m so proud of how far I’ve improved. I hope I get a new PR, and hopefully, we can qualify for Regionals.” 

The Central Heights cross country team hopes to send its boys’ team and its individual girls to the regional meet in Huntsville in a few weeks.