Coach Joseph Sweeney said this is the youngest team he has coached since he started in 1980. The team consists of 12 freshmen, eight sophomores, one junior and one senior.

‘It’s a really young group. I think it’s going to be a great season to build,” Sweeney said.

Sophomore captain Gabrielle Pepin said the team’s youth is an advantage for the team.

“A lot of us sophomores have really stepped it up this year, and I think as a team we can really come together and make some things happen,” Pepin said.

Freshman runner Kayla Janto said she is looking forward to running in her first collegiate race and to set new goals for the team.

“We have 12 freshmen who are inexperienced and have never ran in a college meet before, or race. I think for the first couple of races, we won’t know what to expect, but once we get a few races under our belts I think we’ll have that experience that we’ll be able to do a good job,” Janto said.

Sweeney said the girls have been doing core work, hill work and weightlifting to physically prepare themselves for the season.

“As a group we really get along well, and I think it makes a big difference. We all put in a 100 percent effort every day, and that’s all we could ever ask of each other,” Pepin said. “As long as we keep doing that, I think that we will see we’ll continue to improve throughout the season and throughout the next few years.”

Stephanie Dodd can be reached at dodd0474@stthomas.edu.