MONTE ALTO - The boys at Monte Alto are hitting the ground running in their new sport: cross country.

Christian Arriaga says, "At first, I didn't know what cross country was. Then i got into it, and i started learning stuff thanks to my coach.   I'm just happy to be a part of this team and represent my school."

Coach Salvador Perez, who had previously coached at Hidalgo, pushed for the sport to be added at Monte Alto.  He says it's not easy getting his guys to buy into running.   "Sometimes we're putting in up to 10 miles per day.  It's a process. and then you're going into your speed work and then your mileage at a certain time.   You've got to balance that out.   So, having for them to learn this immediately, that was tough."

The Blue Devils began competing after the season started.  That didn't stop them from going all in.

Jobey Farias notes, "It takes a lot of guts and dedication to run so many miles per day a day with little to no rest.  So, it's pretty fun." Teammate Jorge Lugo adds, "When i heard there was cross country, i was like I'm going to do it because it had been in my family, and I'm going to follow in their footsteps. It was challenging at first because we just heard six miles at first and everybody was complaining."

Last Saturday, the Blue Devils finished third at their district meet.  That earned them a spot in regional.  That's a sweet reward for a first year program.