Coming off of a state championship winning season last year, there is no doubt that the Hinsdale Central Boys Cross Country team has high expectations for this year. The players and coaches, however, don’t feel the pressure.

“It’s a new year with a new approach. The runners are not phased by the pressure,” said James Westphal, head coach.

It appears that the team understands how they cannot take this new season for granted, and also that the pressure isn’t too constricting.

In a sport like Cross Country, where players need to be in excellent physical shape, off-season workouts are extremely critical. Without the off-season, players would not be successful. Coach Westphal believes that his runners worked diligently this off-season, and it will show in their future meets.

Currently, Hinsdale has run in two meets: one being a dual meet against LT, and the other being the Hinsdale Central Home Invite at Katherine Legge Memorial Park. Central placed second in the invite and beat LT in the dual meet. Runners hope to continue their early success into more critical meets in the future.

Although many seniors from last year were lost to graduation, Seniors Chris Brenk, Andrew Irvine, and Nathan Hill have stepped into leadership roles along with junior Blake Evertsen.