New athletic seasons bring new faces to the Klein cross country team, but this year’s turnouts weren’t as high as expected.

“The team this year is kind of small, with only 14 girls and about 20-25 guys,” said junior Erin Coy. “However, the small team created closer bonds, and it has been kind of like a family. The incoming freshmen seem more mature in my opinion. This is also Coach Derek Koonts’ second year. Last season was a big adjustment. This year, we know what to expect, and we’re more familiar with how he does things and how he’ll work things out.”

Changing faces weren’t the only thing different about this season.

“This year is different. The district meet has been moved to Atascosita High,” continued Coy. “We aren’t as familiar with the course and location as other teams. Atascocita is in Humble ISD, so other teams like the Woodlands are accustomed to the course. Klein isn’t. We have rearranged the schedule to run on the course once, and we are training as we can to make ourselves better. So far, all the meets have been super competitive and challenging. The team goal for this year is to do as well as we can. We want to see Klein be 1st overall in the season.”