Cross Country navigates Apache Invitational

By Maya Williamson
Assoc. Feature Editor

Photo by Hana Tyszka
Staff Photographer

The SPHS Cross Country team raced in their last meet before League Championships on Friday, October 28, in the Apache Invitational. The regular varsity squad did not compete yesterday and was instead replaced by members of SPHS’ JV team for the race.

Both girls and boys’ varsity performed very well at Apache, earning seventh place out of 24 and second out of 31, respectively. The flat course made for faster times all around and several personal records.

Leading the boys were freshman Sam Clark (16:16.6) and junior David Seo (16.21.9), respectively placing 13th and 16th as individuals. They were then followed by sophomores Kai Dettman in 26th place (16:32.5), and Nicolo Porcu in 30th (16:37.8). Rounding out the pack in the final three SPHS scoring positions were Sophomore Michael Xiong (51, 16:58.9), Junior Jay Ebata (62, 17:13.6), and Senior Colin Schwantner (73, 17:20.2).

Sophomore Maylis Whetsel lead the girls’ team, individually placing 35th with a race time of 20:20.1. Junior Caroline Liu (20:22.5) and freshman Quyen Ballagh (20:24.8) followed in 37th and 40th place. The final four girls were junior Franny Cross and freshmen Kate Lee (67, 21:17.7), Caroline Liebe (68, 21:21.3), and Amber Pacheco (73, 21:36.0).

Despite the success of the varsity teams, JV did not fair as well. The boys placed 13th out of 24 with an average athlete race time of 18:24.13. On the girls’ side, the runners’ average was 24:58.30, earning them 18th place of 22 teams. The boys Frosh/Soph unit performed surprisingly well, coming in at third place in their division. Their runner average was 18:10.68.

As the last race for many people on the team, the Tigers are overall very proud of their performance this season.

“For me, the end of the season is bittersweet, while I will not miss 5:45 practice I will certainly miss the team and the close bonds that these months have created.” said Whetsel.

Rio Hondo League Finals will take place next week on Wednesday, November 3 at Lacy Park.

2 Replies to “Cross Country navigates Apache Invitational”

  1. Anonymous XC Runner

    Apache was not the last race for anyone on the team. Almost everyone on the team will be racing at League Finals this Thursday.

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