Her hot pink and purple running shoes could be seen in the distance as pieces of grass were kicked up as she ran.

The timer on the finish line continued to click forward as she caught up to the woman in front of her and slowly, but surely, left them behind to follow in her shadow.

A roar came from the crowd as eager parents and coaches cheered on the team as the pack of runners came closer to the finish line, getting one step closer to qualifying for the state championship.

Last Saturday, that dream of making it to the state championship came true for the women’s cross-country team as it placed 10th in the preliminary race and advanced to the state race.

“As a team we did pretty well,” Nicole Sroczynski, said. “The competition was pretty good and there are a lot of teams competing.”

Sroczynski, who beat her personal record at the Fairview Park course with a time of 19:33:73, placed 20th, followed by Rosa Castro with a time of 20:23:03.

“We qualified for the state championship where we will run against the best teams mixed from the north and south,” Dean Lofgren, coach, said.

Individually, the women’s cross-country team runners are confident that they are capable of doing even better than placing 10th at the qualifying race and are hoping to continue pushing themselves toward greatness in the state championship.

“We joke around when we are running and talk to each other and push each other forward when we are running,” Rosa Castro, freshman, said.

Castro, who came in second, ran Saturday’s race without her glasses on, making it difficult for her to see her teammates but was still able to prevail and run an excellent race.        “We are still better than what we are now,” Lofgren said. “The women ran a good and solid race but can do even better.”

The men’s team also came in 10th place at the qualifying race and will be going to the state championship along with the women.

Jimi Duffin, sophomore, admits that during the race the only thing on his mind was to qualify for state and secure a spot for his team.

Duffin said that running the Fairview Park course for the second time helped the Warriors, which played a significant role in the team’s success and was a friendly reminder of how they needed to run the race.

“You kind of had a visual from the last race and you could take a comparative approach to this race,” Duffin said.

Several of the men got stuck in the back of the pack of runners and had to work twice as hard to move up in the ranks.

Lofgren, although proud that the men placed 10th, is confident that the men are capable of placing higher and he is looking forward to a positive change at the Fresno meet Nov. 17.

“It wasn’t a bad race and it wasn’t a good race,” Lofgren said. “Nonetheless, top 10 in So Cal for both teams is commendable and we will go into the state championships with a head of steam and put ourselves in a position to do well.”