Runners sprinted in through the finish line, dripping with sweat and a layer of dust covering their teeth.

But it’s just the start of another cross country season.

The girls kicked off their year with the Lynbrook Center Meet on Sept. 10. Although many girls were disappointed with the results, head coach Danny Moon emphasizes it was only the first meet of the season.

“It really opened the eyes of a lot of the freshmen and new folks, but in a positive way,” said Moon. “For our returning athletes, it was a refresher to feel their legs again, feel how [the races] go, and how miserably hot it can be.”

The varsity team was led by senior Karen Wai in fifth place with a time of 13:29.30 for the 2.1-mile course. Following Wai for the team was freshmen Courtney Schlossaresk in 14th place in 14:04.50. Sophomore Emily Williams finished a strong race in 14:23.60. Other varsity runners were seniors Sophia Cooper and Molly Jordan, junior Hannah Harter, and freshman Emma Lee.

The Falcons sent 10 girls to the Earlybird Invitational Sept. 12, a 3-mile course in Salinas. Led by Williams in the sophomore race with a time of 22:23, the girls pushed it hard up the hills.

Freshman Caroline Chou came third for the team and 50th out of 149 runners in the freshman race with a time of 23:40. Next was Cooper in 24:11, followed by sophomore Lou Guy in 24:28. Also running were Jordan, Harter, Lee, sophomores Kylie Tseng and Carolynn Choi, and freshman Jenny Guarino.

“[The Earlybird Invitational] was beastly!” said Moon. “The best part is [that] they all wanted to run the race, they all did really well, and they enjoyed it.”

The Fremont Firebird Invitational on Sept. 17 brought much better results from the varsity team. Wai led the pack again, finishing in third place. Schlossareck came in next for Saratoga, coming in at 11th place and winning her first medal.