The WACO cross country team is new this year, but not inexperienced.

The Warriors have just the needed amount to have a team, which is five, but will compete as individuals at the meets rather than a team because of the numbers.

One returner that was a top seven runner at Washington, while the teams were combined is Jennie Green who will be one of the leaders for WACO this season.

WACO head coach Cinda Blake said she is looking to her juniors to help lead the team this year.

“On our boy’s side we have Mitchell Shaffer who was a football player and injured his shoulder and has been running this summer and working out and he’s a real leader, I say what we’re going to run and he like ‘Okay, let’s go run this,’” Blake said. “For our girl’s side Jennie Green is our junior as well, both her and Mitchell are juniors and she ran with Washington last year, and I know that running cross country is not her favorite thing to do, but she has been very positive with the younger girls and when we get our junior high kids running with us, I am looking for those two to really step up and be leaders for them too.”

WACO was scheduled to start on August 29, but have decided to bypass the first meet, and will kick things off at English Valleys on September 17.

WACO will run at WMU for the conference meet on October 10, and then run two meets before the district meet on October 24.