After a loss to St. Vincent-St. Mary

in an unconventional relay, the cross country team is preparing for the North Coast League Invitational.

The girls team now has a record of 7-4, and the boys team has a record of 10-2.

At the St. V-M relay Oct. 2, two-person teams combined for 8,000 meters, or about five miles. Each team member ran two 2,000-meter legs.

Despite a relay win by senior Maura Bulgrin and sophomore Emilee Landers, the team lost to the Irish. B ulgrin and Landers combined for a time of 30:39.

St. V-M coach Dan Lancianese was enthusiastic about the chance to run against Hoban.

"I love running against Hoban," Lancianese said prior to the meet. "It's like a big family, and coach [Paul] Donatelli is like a younger brother to me. The scores of the meet aren't important. We just put on our shoes and do our best. It doesn't matter if we win."

Although disappointed by the loss, Donatelli is impressed by the progress his team has made.

"They've been running well," Donatelli said. "And we've seen a lot of improvement throughout the season."

Seniors Dan King and Matt Alto, and sophomores Chase Harshbarger and Landers achieved personal bests throughout the season. Other members of the team are working their way to achieving personal goals.

"We're very close to achieving some team goal times we set at the beginning of the season," Donatelli said. "With a few more meets we should be able to reach them."

Last year at this time the boys varsity team average was around 20:45. This year the team has dropped two minutes off that average.

The NCL Invitational will be run Saturday at Cuyahoga Community College.