Happy Birthday To Us!

Pictured is the team on King's first day ever! Can you spot Steve Griesinger (now a coach)? Sean Lee's older brother is in there too.


10 years ago today, August 3, 1999 - King Cross Country began. And what a beginning it was! We met at Earhart Junior High since the King campus was still a bit under construction. 34 kids showed up, only 6 girls. All were freshmen except for a handful of sophomores.

We ran about a mile that day. Well, at least the workout called for a mile that day. Most of them walked most of it.

I remember thinking, "we've got a lot of work to do."

And here we are a decade later. What a decade it's been.

Though we would be quick to taste success -- the boys team in '99 would actually win the league championship (a small-school league known as the Arrowhead League) there would be yearly challenges of moving up in competitive levels as the school grew. The girls couldn't fill a full team that first season, but have since gone on to win 7 straight league championships across three different leagues and run in CIF Finals 6 times in a row, something no other sport at King can claim.

We've seen it all in ten years! We've had our share of hooligans and looky-lews, but overall we've been blessed with great kids who increasingly are seeing that hard work won't kill you and the fruit of labor is sweet reward. We've had our fair share of talented kids, and many who have discovered their talent along the way.

So what will our 11th season hold for us? No one knows, but our money is on the idea that this could be our best season yet!