Boys and girls runners step onto the field at Justin Community Park in Justin bright and early on Saturday with four teams divided into two genders and onto varsity and junior varsity. With bold red letters read “Coppell” splattered across their shirt, the team was ready to take on the Northwest Invitational Meet.

“Each week, you just want to continue to improve,” Coppell cross country coach Landon Wren said.

And they did. 

Both the boys teams and the JV girls secured victories, while the varsity girls team finished second, marking its best performance this season. This shows improvement within the team from the previous meet when the boys finished third, and the girls placed 21st and 15th, respectively. 

Through fostering an environment of competition among the team, Wren thinks it will continue to help pave the way for the team’s success.

“Competition is good among the team because it forces these kids to be pushed by their teammates,” Wren said. 

However, he’s not worried it will tear them apart.

“Cross country is a very difficult sport. To choose a sport where you have to wake up early and then run miles and miles and miles every day,” Wren said. “It’s pretty incredible to watch. But there’s camaraderie amongst the kids because they’re all doing it together. They all understand it. They’re able to separate their workouts, their meets and competing with one another but when it’s all said and done, they’re back to being best friends.” 

Ultimately, the team is preparing for success at the District 6-6A Championship in Denton on Oct.13. Wren continues to determine who the seven runners will be at the meet as he evaluates each runner’s performance each week. 

The teams meet again Saturday at Lovejoy Fall Festival in McKinney.

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