By Web Content Managing Editor Katie Jenkins

The NNHS girls cross country team won the “First to the Finish XC Invitational” once again this Saturday in Peoria, Illinois, according to Coach Joanna Wilson.

The team continued last year’s success and placed first in both the varsity and open races, said Wilson. The varsity girls dominated with 35 points, safely winning the event by a 46-point margin.

“This is a very focused group,” Wilson said. “Every person has a mission, and every person has goals and targets in mind. They know what they want their end target to be, and they are willing to work really hard to reach it.”

This invitational marks one of the largest competitions of the season, according to captain Maria McDaniel. In fact, “First to Finish” nearly doubles the size of the upcoming state meet. McDaniel estimates that 250 runners ran in the varsity race and that 600 ran in the open race.

“Today was a huge step forward for our team, but there is definitely still room for improvement,” said McDaniel. “Our target is to be undefeated for the whole season; we want to win state again.”

For the first time, the NNHS boys cross country team also competed in “First to Finish.” The fastest 16 boys from the previous meet represented NNHS in the varsity and open races. Varsity placed ninth, but head coach David Racey knows the team can do better.

“Team-wise, the first mile was way too slow. That was the negative. The positive is that the whole team moved up a ton. If we move those guys further up at the beginning of the race, we’ll do a lot better,” said Racey. “I know we can do better than this.”

In the meantime, the team still eagerly awaits the results from the open race at AdkinsTrak.com.