The 2010 edition of Tiger girls cross country is a bit of a contradiction on its own. On the one hand, it returns six of its top seven runners from the team that finished ninth among 14 teams at last October's Section 1 Championships. On the other, the roster includes just one senior. Call it a young, veteran team.
"We didn't have any seniors last year," second year coach Heidi Revels said, "and I am really excited about our returning runners. I expect the four oldest runners to continue to be strong leaders and the two younger ones to continue to improve."
The six returning veterans include senior Nicole Clifton; juniors Bailey Opsal and Marissa Stewart; sophomore Maria Kiminski; freshman Maricia Pacheco and eighth-grader Sofia Chadwick.
Opsal and Clifton were the top two Farmington runners at both the conference and section meets in 2009.
Other runners to watch include eighth grader Tori Jacoby and seventh grader Maricella Pacheco.
"Tori ran at both the varsity and junior varsity levels last year," Revels said. "and Maricella placed at several middle school races as a sixth grader. I'm expecting her to be quite an asset for us this season."
Revels said she has two goals for the upcoming season: 1) to move up from last year's sixth place finish in the Missota Conference and 2) to get more runners out for the team.
"With all of the fall sports it's been tough to keep our numbers up," she said, "but I am already aware of a few younger girls who will be joining us this fall. I believe it's possible for us to move up in the conference because of all of the experience our younger girls gained last year. We have a lot of talent and I think we will start to see the hard work pay off as the season gets going."
Connie Berg returns as assistant girls coach this fall.
The Tigers get their first chance to test their mettle Friday, Sept. 3, when they travel to Eagan for the Dakota County Championships.
