- Video shows Fast Track, a cross country team in Lamont preparing for the national championships.
- Maria Gonzalez and Elizabeth Vasquez ask community members to donate to help the team travel to the championships in Florida.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The Fast Track team in Lamont is asking for community donations to help make it to the National Cross-Country Championships in Florida.
"I want to go to the championship in Florida to make my family proud," said Aileen Hernandez, one of the runners on the team.
Hernandez is a 5th grade student who's been running with fast track since the first grade and says she is passionate about running, continuing to have the same goal.
“I like beating my times,” she said.
Similar to Aileen, Alexander Plancarte also enjoys running—even more so now that he gets to compete alongside his brother Emmanuel. "It's a good exploration and I like being with everyone and it's very fun to run."
This year, the team is made up of 26 athletes from schools in the Lamont community. Maria Gonzalez and Elizabeth Vasquez are teachers at Alicante Elementary School and coaches for Fast Track.
Gonzalez says her passion for running motivated her to coach the team. "We want to thank the community ahead of time for everything they are going to do because we know they come together and ultimately help us out and help the kids meet their goals."
Gonzalez says the donations are going to be used to cover travel expenses, uniforms and more. "They'll compete with up to 200 runners in their age group and they get the opportunity to compete at a higher level."
Last year, the team competed in the championships in Tennessee where several of its runners were recognized for their performances.
“Over students throughout the whole country top 25 is like a major thing, we had one kiddo that got as close as number seven,” she said.
The tournament will be a day long event happening on December 2nd. Until then, Gonzalez and Vasquez ask interested donors to contact them directly using the numbers on the flyer.
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