The La Jolla High School boys cross country team is making strides under second-year head coach Robert McCarthy. After qualifying for and finishing 16th at state last season, McCarthy is raising the bar in his expectations. “I feel we have at least as good a team and our long-range goal would be to finish in the top 10 in the state championships,” McCarthy said. Andrew Farkas and Alex Eve, a dynamic pair of seniors, lead the Vikings. While those two are easily the strongest runners at La Jolla High, they are also a great example to the younger members of the team. “They are excellent leaders as far as attitudes, work ethics and how they accept our younger and newcomer runners,” McCarthy said. “I already miss them for next season.” Farkas trained extremely hard this summer, logging nearly 700 miles so he could be in tip-top shape coming out of the gates. He also trained extensively with his teammates, including his friend, Eve. McCarthy said having two elite runners on the same team is beneficial because they push each other to improve. “The two of them are good friends and have the good fortune of being two of the better runners in Division III,” McCarthy said. “They are able to work with each other every day in order to better themselves and help the school out quite a bit, too.” Farkas started long-distance running in sixth grade and he tries to relay his extensive knowledge to the less experienced runners on the team whenever he can. “I try to fill in the gaps and help our other runners,” Farkas said. “I give them advice on how to run, when to go harder. I try to give them a lot of form advice like how to stay relaxed. I try to give them six years of experience right now and tell them everything I’ve learned, and I feel like it has helped.” In the spring, Farkas cracked the school’s record books when he notched a 4:19 mile to jump onto the elite top 10 list. He also had excellent showings in the 800-meter race. Also an astute student, the speedster is still undecided on what college he will attend next year but is considering a wide range varying from UC Santa Barbara to Colorado and Michigan. “I want to run in college, hopefully somewhere competitive,” Farkas said. “I’d like to run on a scholarship and if I make top 10 at state, I can show that I’m competitive.” Eve also plans to continue running at the next level and is narrowing his decision down to smaller schools on the East Coast. Sophomores Daniel Farkas (Andrew’s brother) and Daniel Hamilton are working hard to solidify themselves as consistent top-five finishers on the squad. It takes five runners to score in cross country team competition. McCarthy said there are a number of talented sophomores on the team but it’s still too early to tell who will step up and contribute down the stretch when the races are most important.