Some important changes to the cross country team this year include the significant number of freshmen, the addition of Austin Thai Nguyen as an assistant cross country coach, and a sophomore becoming a team captain.
The large amount of freshmen on the team means that there is a significant amount of room for personal growth and maturity, Nguyen said.
“There’s not much for me to gripe on having freshmen; freshmen are always going to be immature, especially the first couple months of their time here at the high school,” Nguyen said. “So that’s kind of how it is.”
The team has competed in various meetups across the state, sophomore Joash Thomas said.
“There’s been two pretty big meets,” Thomas said. “The first one was called the Lowell Invitational at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, and one was the Woodbridge Invitational, which was in Irvine, about eight seven hours away.”
This year is Thomas’ first year of being a team captain, he said. The role comes with several responsibilities, which includes looking after all the student-athletes on the team, especially the freshmen, Thomas added.
“We try our best to make sure they feel included,” Thomas said. “For team bonding, we make sure it’s open to everyone, and make sure that we do events, games, activities, etc., that they enjoy. Hopefully, they feel very incorporated, and a really fun experience like when I was a freshman last year.”
Thomas’ experience as a team captain is enjoyable so far, he said. His favorite part is being seen as a leader of the team, he added.
“Normally, sophomores aren’t captains, which is why it was a bit of an experience for me,” Thomas said. “I’m surrounded by all upperclassmen, like juniors and seniors, but it’s pretty fun. I enjoy being in the leadership role, and I enjoy being seen as a mentor to other people.”
Thomas has great athletic ability and looks after the team, senior Carissa Chuan said.
“Yes, he’s fast, but he’s also a very nice person,” Chuan said.
Outside of teaching the team important information regarding cross country performance, Nguyen also helps keep the team spirit up, Chuan said.
“I would say he’s pretty chill,” Chuan said. “He gets along with everybody in the team, and he cracks a lot of jokes, which is fun.”
Nguyen has coached at MHS for five years, he said. He became an assistant coach after head coach Yohaness Asnake asked for help with looking after the cross country team, Nguyen added.
“There’s about seventy-something kids on the team, so we definitely need more than one person to keep an eye out on everybody,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen enjoys being able to see student-athletes grow their skills, he said.
“I’m with them from freshman year until their senior year, and it’s cool to see the maturity along the way,” Nguyen said. “Another thing too is that when I first joined as a coach, we weren’t very good. To see us go from that moment to where we are now, where we’re at least middle of the pack in the higher division in our league – we’ve come a long way, and that’s fun for me to see. I just want to see the program do well.”
