Men's coach Demitrius Snaer has so many runners -- 14 -- he may ask some to redshirt, increasing their chances of developing and helping the Pirates in the future.
"Only seven runners from each school can enter the conference meet," Snaer said. "You use the reserves the best you can. Our eighth guy might be in someone else's top 5."
The nine-member women's team was not similarly graced with big numbers, but coach Mary Shea has been pleasantly surprised with the athletes' progress and the impact they'll have on the track and field season.
Friday's informal meet at Sierra College in Rocklin was a confidence boost, particularly for freshman Ana Mendez of Livingston who finished second against a modest representation of Big 8 Conference schools.
"Some girls at least know what they need to do," Shea said. "I take cross country very seriously because it was one of my events. I'm having some of my middle-distance runners and heptathletes run."
Three women -- Natalie Benoy, Nikki Chaltry and Samantha Mezler -- have experience with the 5K courses. Benoy qualified for the state meet in the 10K this spring.
Metzler finished 10th in last fall's conference cross country championships, helping Modesto win the women's title.
More than how she finishes, Metzler is someone Shea said will help motivate teammates because of her work ethic.
"Samantha trained a lot this summer," Shea said. "She believes in the system. I believe if you want to do well, you're going to have to do right every single day. She does what she's told and she understands the process."
Having patience and steadily improving their times will be a challenge for the runners. Luckily, Shea said, the team bond is already strong.
"Everybody was cheering each other on (Friday) and it's only the first week," Shea said. "The girls ran first and when the guys were seeing how well Ana did, they were saying, 'I can do that. I'm going to go do that.' "
Snaer said the men don't typically compete against one another, concentrating on improving their own times.
But they all want to be close at the finish line, no one more so than freshman John Rea of Weston Ranch.
While lone state qualifier Benny Perez returns as the Pirates' strongest runner, Rea has been pushing everyone, too.
"He's a really tough kid," Snaer said. "He was a wrestler as well as in track. He's in competition mode all the time. He doesn't care that Benny is supposed to be our best runner. He wants to be the best runner ... and that's what you want."
Snaer expects good seasons from Perez and Eric Bond, who trained throughout the summer. He also sees Kevin Cooper and Ryan Orallo to be top finishers and said middle-distance runner Marcos Barba has been handling the increased mileage well.
