The cross country trails will start to blaze soon as the high school cross country season gets under way.

“Pick up where you left off” is the motto that will help the Lakeland High School cross country team to become the best it can be this year. Cross country coach Lakeland Athletic Director Gregory Rountree wants to hit the trails blazing when Lakeland participates in its first meet in a couple of weeks.

“We will be a better team than last season,” he said. “The guys had a great outdoor season. I think we will have at least four runners who can run under 18 for us, which is pretty good.”

Lakeland could finish right in the middle of the pack for the Southeastern District. Rountree also believes if the team performs well enough, it could reach the state meet at the Class 3 level.

Leading the way for the Cavs this season will be seniors Travis Copeland, Diamante Moore and Alton Worley. Junior Nick Horton will also be expected to be among the top five runners for the Cavs this season. Rountree is expecting Lakeland to be competitive in each meet in which his runners participate. With preseason still going on, Rountree likes the way it has been going.

“Preseason has been going well,” Rountree said. “They all have had strong indoor and outdoor track seasons in long distance. We want to continue to keep improving. I tell the kids wherever they stopped off last season, that’s where you pick up at.”

In 2016, the Cavs finished fourth in the conference and had several runners reach the regional meet. This year, the goal will be to reach the state meet.