Posted: Sep 06, 2013

A Solid Foundation

The Citrus College Cross Country team kicks off their 2013 season tomorrow afternoon at the Palomar Invitational.

Glendora, CA -- Under the guidance of new Head Coach Alicia Longyear, the Citrus College Cross Country program is entering new territory. The Owls are looking to push themselves into the upper half of a tough Western State Conference, and are doing so by trying to lay down a solid foundation that will hold up a program for many seasons in the future.

"I expect this year to be year one of a rebuilding effort for our program. With such a young group of runners, we are building a foundation this season that we hope will carry over for many years more," Longyear said. "We have some individual runners who are talented and fast enough to go far in the post-season, but as a whole we're building something here brick by brick."

The Owls have just four sophomores in total for the 2013 season two men and two women. All four (Michael Tejada, Wesley Ewart, Julia Galvez, and Marilyn Meza) are expected to contribute to Citrus' scoring efforts along with a strong freshman class that features highly touted runners Diego Lopez and Alexandra Contreras.

Despite the individual talent that will be at Citrus disposal, it will be a team effort that will lead to the Owls' success in 2013. Citrus will have to work together to get the most out of each other.

"We've been working on packing up during our workouts, whether that's been on our training runs or our speed workouts. It's been a big focus for us lately," Longyear said. "I want our athletes to stick together and encourage each other, and hold each other accountable."

If the Owls can work together and take advantage of the individual talent they already possess things will be on the upswing for Citrus soon.

"I'm really excited about having a chance to work with this group. In my own experience as a runner, I know that this isn't something that's going to turn around overnight. It takes almost a year to build up your stamina and to start seeing drops in your times," Longyear said. "We've only had this group together since June, and they are young. I know that we will see results, if we continue to stick with the program and work hard. "

Citrus gets their first chance to show what they're made of on Friday morning when they take part in the Palomar Invitational. The women's race is set for begin at 12:30 PM at Guajome Park in Oceanside, CA.