This season the number of students participating for cross country has more than doubled in size with over 120 students running. However, with the amount of people going out for this season, some traditions have changed and new rules were put into place to keep control of the athletes, said runners Hope Brown and Delilah Hsu.

“I feel like this year because of the more people we’re not  as close as we were previous years,” said senior runner Delilah Hsu. “I feel like we’re not really as much as a family as we should be because we don’t even know each other’s name, and we kind of just stick to our own groups in cross country.”

Due to the bigger team, coach Diana Huber decided to enforce a new rule. If a runner has more than three unexcused absences, he or she would not be allowed to go to practice for a day. If the same athlete misses another day, he or she wouldn’t be allowed to race, and if the athlete misses another day, he or she is off the team.

“I can understand why she would enforce it,” Hsu said. “We have a lot more people and she really wants those that are dedicated to it, but I wish it would be more understanding because we do have a lot of other stuff going on with like work, school and extracurricular activities.”

Although this season is somewhat different than previous years, said Hsu. Many athletes are still enjoying the season and many runners would recommend this sport to other students.

“I would recommend it,” said junior Hope Brown. “I think even though its a hard sport that requires a lot of work I think its something good for you and your body and good for your mental mind.”