photo by: John Young

Members of the Lawrence High girls cross country team meet before the start of their 5k race at the Baldwin Invitational on Sept. 19, 2015 in Baldwin City.

Stretching in the school’s parking lot around 8 a.m. each morning, Lawrence High cross country runners have one thing on their mind: work their way to the state meet.

The Lions only sent one runner to the Class 6A state meet last year — sophomore Morgan Jones — and their goal is to make sure that number rises by the end of October.

That goal began early in the summer when the Lions opened their five-times-a-week summer workouts. About a dozen runners showed up last week, most of them returners from last season.

“We’re definitely stronger and know what we can do now,” senior Garrett Prescott said. “We’re really hoping that we can get some people in (to state).”

The LHS girls could potentially return their entire varsity lineup from a year ago, led by Jones, sophomores Anna DeWitt, Layne Prescott and Katie Ahern, seniors Mikayla Herschell and Christina Cho, and junior Lacey Greenfield.

As a team, the Lions were 11th in the Sunflower League, but believe their summer workouts have helped them make strides. Since the beginning of June, they’ve increased from their three or four miles runs to six miles.

“I’m a little nervous just because I feel like I have something to prove since it’s my senior year,” Herschell said. “But I think that it’s going to be a good season. I’m just ready to be with my team.”

The Lions have already started adjusting to first-year coach Laura Koster, who replaced Brian “Chip” Anderson. Koster was an assistant on last year’s team.

Anderson retired from teaching at the end of the school year and wasn’t allowed to return as coach after violating a pre-arrangement clause in the state’s working-after-retirement system.

“She’s a really good coach,” Herschell said of Koster. “I think she brings a lot to the table because she’s coached before, she’s run before, she’s gone to state, so she knows what it takes.”

The summer workouts, which start in the morning to avoid the heat, help runners avoid injuries because they are comfortable running long distances each day once the season begins.

“At the beginning of the season, they already have their long runs built in there and we can start working on speed,” Koster said. “So they definitely have an advantage.”

The LHS boys will likely be led by varsity returners Garrett Prescott, senior Ben Otte and juniors Carson Jumping Eagle, Jackson Hoy, Calvin DeWitt and Carter Shook.

After being shut out of state last season, they are confident that they can surprise some people in the upcoming season.

“We all know each other and I think we know we can push each other a lot more,” Garrett Prescott said. “We know it’ll help us compete better.”

Koster added: “They are really excited about the season. They kind of just go out and they are in charge of their own run. They kind of run themselves, which is nice. I think that helps that they’ve got some older kids that are used to doing that.”