ROYAL CITY - Everyone knows the Royal High School football program is one of the best in the state.

They are learning there is another program at Royal that's starting to get lots of attention. Royal has become a name in cross country.

Coached by Ben Orth, boys cross country has quietly turned into one of the most successful programs in the state. The girls are right behind.

The boys team has rattled off four consecutive South Central A Conference district titles and has qualified to run at the state championships in Pasco the last eight years.

Royal has sent several individual girls to state during the same time. Last year was the first time in school history that that team won the district championship and earned a team berth to State.

"I love working with the runners in our program," Orth said. "Each year they commit to a high standard of effort, and it is really fun to watch them improve through hard work."

Orth noted his runners work on individual speed and team speed. Both are essential to a cross-country success.

The boys return five of the top seven runners from last year's squad. Leading the way is senior Marcos Quiroz, who is a three-time first team All-League runner. He has his sights set on placing at state this season.

Other key returners for the Knights are seniors Nathan Purdue and Cliff Lester, juniors Riley Lefler and J.J. Jimenez, and sophomores Salvador Horta, Cristian Garcia, and Elias Cardenas. There is a promising freshman in Victor Garcia.

The Lady Knights also show great promise. They return all seven of the runners from last year's state qualifying team.

Leading the way will be senior Brea Diaz and sophomore Anahi Gomez. Both girls were first team All-League runners last year.

Other key runners on the girl's squad will be seniors Carina Moreno, Rosa Hernandez, and Maritza Garcia, junior Sam Eilers, sophomore Meghan Mianecki and freshman Caitlin Diaz.

The Knights will kick off their season at the Silverwood Invitational this Saturday, Sept 6.