AACC’s Women’s cross country is stepping up their training sessions for the 2017 Bill Fritz Invitational on Sept. 16.

The 6-kilometer event will test each of Coach Jim Griffiths’ athletes and he has one goal for his team−to improve.

Caitlyn “Cat” Shriver, a sophomore elementary education major, shares her coach’s goal. “I’m here because it betters me and it helps motivate me to improve my endurance.”

Griffiths added, “It’s hard to get too focused on winning. It’s more about how much they are progressing, are you seeing improvement?”

This improvement is due to the diverse practices Griffiths has implemented this season.

The team practices four days a week and is a mixture of running, cross training, and weight training.

Practice starts off with stretching then followed by running hurdles and a ladder drill to warm up. The athletes then run for about 30 minutes and follows up with cross training or weight training.

On days off, the team is required to run 30 minutes at home.

 MacKenzie Schwartz, a sophomore studying public health said, “I run at least fifteen miles a week,” not including her bi-weekly meets.

The team have been preparing for two weeks. The meet will take place at Rowan University in New Jersey.