Optimism seems to be the most fitting word to describe the women’s cross country team. Although sophomore Courtney Stephens and freshman Naomi Altamirano are the only runners to compete this season, coaches Dean Lofgren and Sean Sheil remain hopeful of putting out a complete team soon.

Since they were only able to compete as individuals, Stephens finished in 10th place and Altamirano finished 29th on Saturday at the Santa Barbara Invitational in Santa Barbara. Lofgren was once again impressed with the performances of the two runners.

“I was really impressed as usual with the way (Stephens) ran,” Lofgren said. “She is so solid in these races, I already know what to expect from her.”

Also, Altamirano impressed Lofgren with the way she competed.

“To be 29th in a field of 165 is amazing,” Lofgren said. “We are very proud of her.”

Sheil said that Altamirano is a better runner during the competition than in practice. During practices, the coaches said Altamirano has a habit of not doing well at times. But during the actual races, it’s a different story.

“(Altamirano) is a much better runner during the competition,” Sheil said. “She is unbelievable.”

With only a couple of races left, the women will not compete this weekend in preparation for the South Coast Conference championship Friday Oct. 31 in Torrance. Even though the women have not yet competed as a group, both coaches said they are not ruling out the possibility to pull some of the women from the track team to the cross country team.

“At this point, it is a possibility,” Lofgren said. “If we do decide to go that route, then they will have to train for it because long distance running is a different animal compared to short distance.”

Since the women will not be competing this weekend, Sheil said they will train hard so the possibility to compete as a group can become a reality.

“Technically, we don’t have to put out a full group yet until the championships,” Sheil said. “So, we are going hard this week so that we can take a shot at competing as a group.”

As the team’s No. 2 runner, Altamirano said she feels good about her progress so far this season.

“I felt great on Saturday,” Altamirano said. “Every race it seems like I am getting more comfortable and I am steadily improving.”

Altamirano credits her improvement to the hard work she has put in so far this season and during the off-season.

“(Santa Barbara) was a hard course because part of it was on the beach, but I did better than last week,” Altamirano said. “I was in control during the race and I did not struggle. The hard work has paid off so far.”

With so much uncertainty in the air, Lofgren said he continues to remain optimistic in competing as a group. But he said it will take a lot of hard work and a lot of training for that to happen.

“We’ll just see what happens this week in practice and we’ll move forward from there,” Lofgren said.

If the women decide not to compete as a group, Stephens and Altamirano will have to compete as individuals for the championship rounds.

“(Stephens) is going to be great because she knows everyone she is racing against and knows her surroundings very well,” Lofgren said. “For (Altamirano), it will be a good experience for her but we know she’ll do great.”