After two months of construction, the stadium reopened for sports who normally practice there, including cross country, head coach Kenrick Sealy said.

This year is the second time the field has been redone since 2011, when HHS got artificial fields and a brand new track for the first time, Sealy said.

Though the meeting place for practices had to change to the side fields, Sealy said it did not impact the team significantly. 

“We don’t utilize the track as often because the terrain [of] competitions that we run on is mostly a lot of cross surfaces, we run on pavement and trails, dirt and grass,” Sealy said. “So, that doesn’t really affect our rhythm.”

Finding a place to station the team’s practices was difficult because the track originally acted as a home base for the runners to leave their belongings, alongside serving as a place to assemble at the beginning of practices, Sealy said. 

Since the team had no track to practice on, they were forced to run to Sunnyvale Middle School, allowing runners to warm up, cross country captain, sophomore Julia Song said. While the new location made practice a little more difficult, it also allowed them to get used to running on diverse terrain, Song said. 

“In cross country we end up running on a variety of terrains like dirt, road, grass and the track. It is good to be trained on all terrains, not just one, so when the race comes, we are prepared for things like uneven ground and are able to quickly find our footing,” Song said in an email. “I also think that running on grass helps build ankle strength and avoid injuries like rolling your ankle.”

Moreover, Sealy said even now that the track is done with construction, being able to practice on it has not changed a lot. 

“You don’t really need facilities. You just need your shoes and some shorts,” Sealy said. “You probably [don’t] even need a shirt.”

However, cross country runner, sophomore Siddarth Iyer, who has been a part of the team since freshman year, said there have still been some challenges associated with the move. 

“Last year [practices] were on the track, and it was a little bit nicer to run on, so the workouts have been a little more challenging,” Iyer said.

Still, Sealy said having the track comes with the benefit of allowing cross country to multitask. 

“If you want to do 400 meters repeat, you can utilize the track,” Sealy said. “[Without the track], we have to set up cones, mark off with a wheel and that takes time to set up.”

Now that the field opened up, the cross country’s original home base has also opened up which is much more convenient than the side fields for its location, Sealy said.

“It’s great because we got access to everything we need [like] our facilities. If I need to grab certain things, I can grab that, whereas before I had to transport stuff to and from, and that kind of made it difficult,” Sealy said. “But now back being here, it has allowed us to feel a lot more settled.”

Additionally, Iyer said having their meeting place back brings him back to his freshman year.

“[Practices] feel much better now because we’re in familiar territories. The workouts are how they’re supposed to be. Some things are as hard as they’re supposed to be,” Iyer said. “[The meeting place] gives memories of last year and it just feels a lot more comfortable to be back here.”