During the first cool morning of the year, Westwood cross country faced off against their fastest competition yet at the Eastfield Invitational meet on Saturday, Sept. 27th. Being the last meet before districts, many runners were focused on trying their hardest to lock down their times in preparation for their upcoming district meet. 

The stage was set: it was a chilly morning and the perfect opportunity for the Warriors to focus in and replicate a perfect district run. The start was ideal, with Varsity Girls starting at 7:30 a.m. and Varsity Boys followed very quickly at 8:00 a.m. with no room for the heat to break in.

“This meet was so nice not having the heat slowing me down,” Ben Harvey ‘28 said. “It was also a faster race compared to some previous ones which really helped me get an idea for how I’m going to do at districts.”

Due to the fact that there were around 500 JV Boys runners, the meet directors had to divide them into two teams, giving runners more space and safety on the field. However, the large number of schools led to an increased amount of competition. Facing schools like Round Rock  and Georgetown. 

“Running with all these big schools was kinda intimidating at first however once I got out of the start heading into my first mile I quickly got over my worries,” Rylan Madland ‘28 said.

At the end of the meet, Westwood placed 10th overall.Sivin Naik ‘26 coming in at 6th place and Evelyn Bell ‘28 coming in at 40th place bridged the gap and helped allow Westwood to finish in top 10.

“Some of my friends were a little worried about running since last year there were some pretty quick times, however to me it felt like just a trial meet for districts since the competition is a little similar and it finally felt nice to run,” John Miller ‘28 said.

Although Westwood runners faced off against quick competitors they still pulled through and pulled out 10th place. The Warriors are now preparing for their next and final meet at districts on Wednesday, Oct. 8th.