Senior trip

“The way that I coach, and the way that they are with each other, we’re a very loose, light team,” Brobeck said. “We don’t talk about rankings ever, and we don’t go on the websites and read our articles. We don’t get too preoccupied with that. I think in previous years, maybe a No. 1 ranking would be a little bit of an anchor to us, but this year it just feels right. There’s no pressure associated with it. We know that we control our destiny.

“The other team that’s vying for this, McFarland [of Bakersfield], is a perennial powerhouse. They’ve got a very good shot at it. If they have fresh legs and they run a smarter race than us, then they deserve to win. The message I’ve sent to these kids in every race is, ‘All we can do is control ourselves, our emotions.’ We’ve got a good race strategy for Saturday and I think if the kids stay composed, there’s no reason why we can’t be the last ones standing at the podium.”

They didn’t get there last year, finishing fourth after what Brobeck called a couple of freak occurrences, like Hofmeister needed an emergency appendectomy the day before the meet. Only the top three teams see the podium. Yet, that has provided motivation for Laguna Beach this year.

“We’ve all been on the team and missed a few chances,” Shapero said. “We all want it pretty bad.”

Brobeck doesn’t need to rely on big speeches. He lets his mature team figure it out for themselves.

“This group is so mature, they know what’s at stake, they know what’s best for them,” Brobeck said. “My hands-off approach so far this season has worked well. Pressure never works well with high school kids anyway.”

So there’s no pressure from the coach, and the runners don’t feel any pressure, either. All that leaves is the track in Fresno on Saturday, and just over 15 minutes of a race that could turn out with the Breakers back on the podium.

No matter what happens, the senior class will leave Fresno as they came — as friends. And maybe more than that.

“We’re all a family,” Newton-Neal said. “That’s how I see it.”