Most of the men on the cross country team are novices to the four-mile trails they see every weekend, yet with each race, three so far, they discover more of what they’re capable of achieving in competition.

Coming off the heels of the Golden West Invite, coach Dean Lofgren and his team won’t see any competition this week, just a “much-needed a week off” from competition Lofgren said.

“We’re mentally fit and fairly tight,” Lofgren said. “Aside from some individual pace adjustments, (they are) progressing well.”

Bill Rogers, the freshman from Liberia and Tyler Stover (Mira Costa) have been No.1 and 2 on the team in every race.

Stover has mentioned that the two engaged in a friendly back and forth Saturday.

“We were racing each other instead of racing against the field,” Stover said. “We’d pass each other every other hill.”

Kendall Lopez from Bell, and freshmen Juan Pinedo (San Pedro) and John Guzman (South) have maintained the Nos 3-5 slots and have all made considerable strides each week to close within one another.

At Golden West, EC finished third with 98 points in a field of 18. San Bernardino claimed first (50) and American River, considered one of the top colleges in Northern California, took second (75).

“Another nice solid team effort against some very good competition,” Lofgren said.