They bore no address or ZIP Code. Only “Jim White, Coach, McFarland, CA.” Inside were checks for $20, $100, $500 and one for $1,000 for the high school cross-country team in this poor farm town.

The story of their improbable victory, told in the Disney movie ... “McFarland, USA” captures the grit and beauty of cross country. From 1987 to 2001, McFarland High School won nine California ...

Kevin Costner stars as a high-school ... daily from school to the fields to pick crops in scorching heat will do that to you — and decides to start McFarland High’s first cross-country team.