Those who visited the new rust-red track at South Whidbey High School on a recent afternoon may have been dismayed at the sight of a dozen teenagers sitting on the side.

They looked like runners, wearing brightly-colored shoes and shirts and shorts and socks. But they were laid up with injuries, many of them hardly able to run a 400-meter lap around the track.

Various ailments have plagued the start of South Whidbey’s cross country season, potentially lowering the chances for both teams to reach the state 1A meet for a second consecutive year together.

Seniors on the team said they joke, though it’s a true statement, that they’re happy the sprains and strains happened now instead of at the end of the season.

“We’re glad the pain is happening now instead of before districts,” said senior Emma Lungren, one of the team captains and the lone 12th-grader for the girls squad.

“It’s definitely a bit bad for morale,” she added.

Injuries have slowed the start for some of South Whidbey’s top girl runners, including sophomore Anna Leski, junior Anna Justus, freshman Elizabeth Donnelly and Lungren. The hope, Lungren said, is that within a few weeks everyone will be fully healed and ready to run all the way to the state meet again as a team.

“We’ve got the heart,” Lungren said. “Our collective legs aren’t working right now, but once they get well I think we’ll make an impact.”

To do so, they’ll need to finish in the top two at the District 1 meet, which the Falcons host this year for 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A schools in San Juan, Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish and Island counties on Nov. 1.

With the state-qualifying postseason race held at South Whidbey, head coach Doug Fulton said he’s expecting record attendance for the Falcons’ only home meet during the regular season. The Carl Westling/South Whidbey Invitational will be the unveiling of the new track on Saturday, Sept. 20.

The home meet is one of the circled dates for Lungren and her boys-team comrade, Truman Hood, a senior. He also added the Sunfair Invitational in Yakima as one of the top races he’s looking forward to because it’s an overnight trip.

“It’s a challenging meet, but there’s a fun run, a dinner,” Hood said.

Leading the boys team are senior Cole Zink, senior Anders Bergquist, sophomore Will Simms, senior Anthony Kovic and Hood. Some of the younger runners were the most dedicated to the summer training program. Hood said Collin Burns didn’t miss a single team run during the summer, over which Zink logged 500-plus miles. Hood said he registered close to 400 miles running four days a week with the team and twice a week alone.

All of the work is in the hopes that the boys team can qualify for the state meet. Once there, Hood said their goal is to finish in the top four as a team.

“We’re gonna go real far,” he said. “This year, we might earn some recognition.”

2014 Falcon cross country schedule

4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10 Conference preview at Lakewood

10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 13 Sehome Invitational at Bellingham Civic Athletic Complex

4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17 at King’s

10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 South Whidbey Invitational *

9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 27 Bellevue Invite at Lake Sammamish State Park

3:15 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4 Twilight Invite at Cedarcrest Golf Course

4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9 at Cedarcrest

4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16 River Meadows Run at River Meadows Park, Arlington

10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 25 Cascade Championships at Lakewood

TBD Saturday, Nov. 1 District 1 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A championships at South Whidbey