As the runners dart out at the start of the season, bits of dirt and flying mud hit their faces. But whether in rain or shine, there will only be one thing on their minds: moving forward.

Constant rain and strong winds have made the beginning of the season unwelcoming for the runners. Although they run on a drenched track, their goal remains the same: to work hard. Nevertheless, the season has kicked off with nothing but practice, practice, practice for the dedicated runners on this year’s team.

Last season, both the girls’ and boys’ divisions won the championship titles, adding onto their long winning streak among high schools in the city. The boys’ division currently holds one of the longest streaks in AAA history with 13 championships in a row, while the girls’ division holds the second longest streak in the AAA with 22 consecutive championship wins.

Despite the track team's hardworking and talented runners, coach Andy Leong sensed that Lincoln’s girls distance runners might be favored for this year’s top spot, since many crucial Cardinal veterans graduated last year.

In addition, Lincoln’s distance runners have been on the rise and are still going strong, evidence of the Cardinal cross country team’s loss to Lincoln last semester, their first in 32 years. “Last year, we won the championship, but the seniors who graduated left a few holes in the team,” Leong said. “This year, Lincoln has a strong distance group while our group is not as strong. Lincoln’s distance runners are looking better this year.”

The Washington girls’ division may also pose a threat as their first and second distance runners may be on par with Lowell’s third and fourth distance runners, but the Cardinals are not too concerned about the other schools. “The other schools don’t have the numbers we do, and even if they did, they don’t have the talent,” Leong said.

The addition of many new runners and the loss of many of the veterans has left the team with a few holes, so Leong plans to pick up the pace and work the runners harder. “I’m going to be keeping an eye on them (the runners), more than I did the last two years,” Leong said. “We have also got to pick up the intensity.”

Other significant changes have been made this season. Instead of the coaches calling the shots on the day’s agenda, there is a new schedule that plans out all the practices week after week. “We used to have our coach tell us what we would be doing on that day, but now we have schedules for our practices,” junior Stephanie Leung said. The new schedule allows the runner to know what to expect that week for practice rather than before. “We now have an easy week, then a moderate week, then the most difficult week in that order followed by a resting week as a break,” Leong said.

The new runners are also contributing their part to the team just by showing up and practicing day after day for hours on end. “Most of the newbies show up every day and are very hardworking; some of them are even pretty fast,” junior Olivia Liang said. As for the captains, they aren’t short of their responsibilities either, as role models and as support. “Our team captains are really amazing, they help motivate me and the team,” Liang said.

Michael Speech, Thomas Tran, Charles Hatch, Sean Gui, Ritchie Jong, Miguel Mallorca and a few other assistant coaches will be playing a big part in assembling and improving the newly formed team with Leong. “Track and field is a huge network of events made up of micro groups: within the sprinters you have the jumpers and within the jumpers you have long jump, high jump and pole vault,” Leong said. “Without the coaching staff, there would no way to cover all these events.”

The coaching staff’s enthusiastic and hardworking attitude will be a key factor in the team’s success this year with the novice members. With a winning mentality and positive attitude, the team will surely dominate the AAA this season.