As Bethlehem Catholic cross country coach Kassi Yocco enters her second season as head coach of the Golden Hawks, a quick look back shows how much the team has grown since her arrival.

“There definitely has been improvement since last year,” she said. “Looking back at workouts, everyone is a little faster or significantly faster.”

Also growing are the Hawks’ numbers with nine girls and 12 boys to date.

Key returners will be Margaret Burke, Dan Smith, and Aidan Michels.

Assisting Yocco this season is Alex Race, a graduate of East Stroudsburg University and Wilson Area High School.

“It’s nice to have someone help who is really into running and knows about running,” Yocco said.

Coach Yocco had her runners write down team and individual goals for the 2021 season, while her goal is for everyone to achieve them.

“It’s exciting that racing will be back to how it was,” said Yocco, regarding the ability to race all the teams within the East Penn Conference. “The more competitors there are, the more motivation the kids will have.”