The Wildcats cross country teams are looking to inch ahead of the competition this season.

With 24 boys and 31 girls on the cross country roster, Coach Norman Petersimes said the team as a whole has hit the track running.

With state finals currently set for early November, Petersimes said his team hasn’t wasted a moment in setting its goals for the season.

“Our boys are looking to win the Oakland Activities Association (OAA) Red division championship and possibly win the Regional Championship, while also qualifying to the State Finals. Our girls are looking to qualify for the State Finals and improve on our 20th State Finals finish last season,” Petersimes said.

While the teams may hold differing goals, Petersimes noted that there are still plenty of similarities between these two highly-competitive teams of Wildcats.

“Both teams’ strengths include running together as a pack during the race. Both teams scout and they know their opponents strengths and weakness, as well. Both teams are continually striving to close the gap (time) on rivals in both our league and region,” said Petersimes. “As the season progresses we look to improve the average time of each squad and the time (gap) in between each varsity runner. I’m really looking forward to seeing how our teams perform at some of our upcoming big meets.”

On the boy’s side, Dominic Bruce, a senior leader, was noted by Petersimes to be one of the Wildcat’s stand-out athletes, along with Ulises Rodriguez and Hunter Green. “Dominic is our most dominant runner, he runs with the leaders in every race we attend, he is looking to break the 16:00 mark this season. He also is a captain who leads by example,” said Petersimes. Ulises is one of our most improved athletes (who) runs with intensity and focus. Hunter Green keeps our team on track during a meet by running a very even and steady race.”

On the girl’s side, Petersimes said he’s looking to senior leader Bridget Cusick, and upperclassmen Molly Long and Kirsten Hufstedler to lead the Wildcats.

“Bridget always leads by example, leads our pack consistently. Molly and Kirsten also help our team ‘pack up’ and lead our varsity team at all times,” said Petersimes.

Both teams will face Waterford Mott and West Bloomfield at an invitational held Friday, September 29 at Hess Hathaway Park (825 S. Williams Lake Rd., Waterford Twp.) at 3 p.m.