TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — Two student athletes at Troy University who have ran together since middle school are now running together at the collegiate level.

Sophomores Keith Warner and Zane McPeters are no strangers to competing in Cross Country. They both started when they were in elementary school.

“Fifth grade,” Warner said. “My mom made me go out to run while my brother was running cross-country and then I just kind of fell in love with it.”

“For me it was sixth grade,” McPeters told TrojanVision. “He told me to come to a little running club after school and that’s kind of how we became better friends.”

The two runners met in a middle school in Hoover, Alabama.

“We had this coach in middle school that started this running club for six graders,” Warner explained. “We kind of met in the same friend group.”

“We also lived like five or six houses down,” McPeters added.

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The duo says their success comes from hard work and inspiration from each other.

“I went through some injuries in high school and I didn’t want to run in college,” Warner said. “I just wanted to call it quits and he was like, ‘Hey man just reach out to Coach Cunningham. Just send him a text.’ To have that guy around you that’s looking out for you, it’s huge.”

“Keith, he’s always been there. He’s probably one of the biggest motivators I have to run because he’s always running at six a.m. I can always count on that so it’s always somebody to run with,” McPeters explained.

The Troy Cross Country season is set to begin Friday, Aug. 30. That meet will take place at the Jacksonville State University (JSU) Foothills Invitational.