Striding at Sage Hill

Bryce Alderton

Sage Hill High girls cross county coach Nate Miller patiently

waits as his team learns a little bit more about the ins and outs of

running each time they step foot on a course.

With a team that includes six returners, several girls still

remain fairly new to running, which means more time training.

“Last year (the team) was new to running and in general we made

strides in even fielding a team,” Miller said. “Having a year under

our belts for a lot of the returners will help a lot.”

The Lightning finished sixth out of the seven-team Academy League,

and Miller expects league play to be competitive again this season,

but is ready for the challenge.

Seniors Brianna Garrett, last year’s team captain, and Megan Curry

anchor the group of returners and “should be good leaders for our

team,” Miller said.

Four juniors round out the returners including Alis Brito, Yao

Lopez, Saieh Nodoust and Ashley Negrette.

Miller expects to select five or six newcomers to add to the

roster, while trying as best he can to guard his runners from injury

as they train.

“We definitely have to be careful of injuries,” Miller said. “The

team had fun (last year) and wants to be out there and working hard.

We try and take things not too seriously, improve and get a sense of

accomplishment.”

Though Miller was somewhat disappointed that more girls didn’t

attend optional summer workouts, Miller remains confident he will see

more girls working out on their own over time.

“That will continue to improve in the future as we get more kids

running in the summer,” he said.

Sage Hill competes in four invitational events that are

individual-oriented in addition to the dual and tri-meets scheduled

this season.