Head coach Kari Custar is growing the cross country program at Woodward High School and has new faces on the team this season.

“We have a lot of young promising athletes coming into our program this year that should round out our program. I truly look forward to seeing how far this team will go,” said coach Custar. One athlete making his return is Roberto Nava, a senior who will become a four-year starter for the program.

“As a senior it means a bunch of the new people coming to the team will be looking up to the seniors that already have worked so hard to be in the position that they are right now, I always enjoy practices with my teammates a lot, they make the practices so fun and we help each other to become better runners and to push our beyond our limits,” said Nava. Coach Custar points out how encouraging Nava is to his teammates.

“Roberto is a senior this year. He has been running cross country for the last three years. Roberto is always there to encourage others and give everyone a good laugh. He made a lot of improvement last year and I look forward to seeing how he finishes out his senior year,” said coach Custar. One incoming freshman is turning a lot of heads early in the season. Dathan Custar continues to push himself for faster and more consistent times.

“Dathan is a freshman this year and is a very dedicated runner who continues to push himself to improve during the season and outside of the season. Dathan has proven to have a lot of success during his junior runs and is striving to have success during his high school years. Other athletes strive to run like he does. He also proven himself in the classroom as well,” said coach Custar. Another underclassman making some waves is Ruben Salazar. Another runner who got his start in middle school, Salazar is proving to be a true commodity to the team this season. Senior Ed Corona is the heart of the team according to coach Custar.

“No matter how he does in a race, he is always at the finish line to cheer his other teammates on and to get them anything that they need. We will greatly miss Ed next year,” said coach Custar. Other team members this season include Jimmy Chen (Fr.), Evan Dunn (Sr.), Joshua Hagemeier (Sr.), Talbot Illiff (Sr.), Jesus Loya Quezada (Fr.), Angel Nava (Jr.), and Bo Patten (Fr.).