More Impressive Cross-Country Results

A beautiful day for a cross-country race was had at Northeast Kings Education Center Tuesday, October 4. Ten Highlanders donned their singlets to have their best shot at cracking the top 10 in their respective division. Our girls were led in that effort by Chelsea James ‘29 as she earned a silver medal in her junior girls division and was just a few paces behind gold. She was feeling under the weather at our home meet, but on that day she still gave her best effort. We saw what happens when we have best effort plus health! Even though she was not feeling her best, Maria Jose Pedroza ‘27, did her best and cracked into the top half of junior girls.

 

Our large contingent of boys was led by Vinnie Armstrong ‘25 as he powered to a gold medal in his intermediate division. Fellow intermediate division runner Wesley Oulton ‘25 had a much more grueling race today than at the Festival of Champions (FOC). I think he felt that he had more gas in the tank at FOC, but that certainly wasn’t the case today! Way to go. Senior August Henrici ‘23 was ever the academic today as he maximized his math tutorial time before sprinting for the vans. Turning his focus to running, August earned 10th place.

 

One of the best emails I have had this week was from Yasu Hojo ‘25 asking if he could race today. New to racing cross-country, I know with continued running practice he’ll be stealing more bases on the Highlander baseball team. Little brother Ken Hojo ‘27 raced this course last year and had a performance that he is eager to improve on, finishing just out of the top 10. Eli Strum ‘28 also raced this event a year ago, and he made his 2022 debut today. Eli can always be counted on to give his very best effort, and this afternoon he led by example yet again. Coach Robinson commented that Eli and Ken both looked strong and confident as they approached the finish line. He also said that it was fun to listen to Eli chat about the race and give his best tactical advice to the new junior boys on the drive there. One of those rookies is Fletcher Wellard ‘28. Coach Robinson said afterward that he looked strong coming into his finish. Very relaxed and looked like he was floating – that guy can run. Altyn Hood ‘29 is another rookie who has been very impressive especially when he was doing drills with us while in his mascot costume! He also has great form and is definitely one to watch as he continues to progress. Rounding out our impressive junior boys squad is Carlos De Los Santos ‘27. Tired from the weekend and nursing a bit of lower leg soreness, Carlos wasn’t in top form physically, but he still did his best mentally, and that’s all I can ask for.