Goal No. 1
Great Oak senior Sandra Pflughoft will run in her fourth consecutive CIF State final. (Lizette Adams)
While NXN is the brass ring for high school cross country teams like Great Oak, the late CIF championship schedule in California forces the State Meet to also serve as a qualifier.
"The nice thing for us is the way it's set up, we can't overlook State," Soles said. "We have to win State to get to NXN. You don't win State, there's a good chance you may not go. We focus on winning State so that we can get to NXN and NXN has been a focus for our boys team since May. They really set that goal together. They've been really bonding and focusing on doing it."
Soles' boys team sits atop the latest Flo50 Rankings, while the girls are No. 2. That said, in no way does Soles discount the huge test that awaits Saturday in Fresno.