Story by Trisha Chakraborty
Staff Writer
Photo by Mike Parkinson
Contributor
The 45th Annual Asics Clovis Invitational was held from Friday, Oct. 11 to Saturday, Oct. 12 in Fresno, where over 250 schools from around the state competed. South Pasadena’s varsity cross country teams performed strongly despite the hot, dusty conditions during the annual preview of the 5K State Championship course.
“The conditions were far from ideal and I’m super proud of how the team handled it. We dealt with some sickness the week before, a key runner on our team had to sit the race out, and one of our girls even tripped during the race,” senior Abigail Errington said. “Despite this, everyone still killed it.”
The boys’ team took second place in the Extra Large Blue division, competing against 32 other teams. Sophomore Michael Scarince finished seventh with a PR time of 15:44. Senior Noah Aldana followed in 17th with a time of 16:01. Junior Dylan Shugg finished with a time of 16:18. The entire boys’ varsity team set a course team time record of 81:14.
The girls’ team competed in the Bill Buettner Girls Championship race. Errington led the team in seventh place with a PR time of 17:24. Senior Sophia Humphrey followed in 78th with a time of 19:09. Senior Chloe Koo followed in 87th with a time of 19:25.
“We were only a second off the school record, which is pretty crazy all things considered,” Errington said. “If we qualify for state we’ll get the chance to run the course again, which I’m really looking forward to. We’ll be in better shape and more prepared. I’m excited to see what we’re capable of.”
The Tigers are looking forward to competing in the first Rio Hondo League Meet on Thursday, Oct. 17 in Pasadena.
