This past Saturday was another step toward a return to normalcy. For the first time in almost a year and a half, the Whitney Cross Country Team raced on a familiar course, albeit a very tough one, at Willow Hills in Folsom. The course has a lot of history, including our annual league races there, and of course it is the site of the Sac Joaquin Section Championships.
Our dual meet with Granite Bay can be summed up as wins for the guys and losses for the girls. Granite Bay is a strong program, especially on the girls side this year, so both frosh soph and varsity girls were outscored by the Grizzlies. Our frosh soph boys and varsity boys both raced really well to remain undefeated on the season.
Freshman Sophie Bowen once again led the Lady ‘Cats in the frosh soph girls race, placing 6th overall. Not far behind, having a very good race was sophomore Ashanti Elie. Sophomores Maddie Kelly and Tyler Williams and freshmen Katie Hart and Mikaela Pock packed up for much of the race, all finishing within about 5 seconds of each other. Freshman Taylor Bettencourt and sophomore Emma Carlson were next, finishing just 3 seconds apart, followed by sophomore Jane Sherman and freshman Zoe Cloud. So many of these young ladies have learned how to work together to help with pacing and staying strong on a challenging course like Willow Hills.
Our frosh soph boys have grasped that team concept in the biggest way as they continue to win. Sophomore Cole Jamieson, still recovering from a broken foot, put together a very smart race to claim the individual win. Freshman Noah Lopez, having perhaps the brightest result of the day, nearly clipped Granite Bay’s #1 runner in a photo finish; Noah has been rising quickly with a couple of spectacular races recently. The maroon kept coming with fellow freshmen David Hurren, Anthony Berg, and Joel Tajiri, and sophomore Jaden Rapp all finishing within a half minute of Noah for a lethal team spread (in cross country scoring, a team with an individual winner, then a gap of only 30 seconds to the 5th runner, is a formidable team). Whitney took 6 of the 7 top spots. Just 20 seconds later was freshman Noah Reed, with sophomore Aidan Barkve and freshman Brendan Whitmore a few seconds behind. Sophomores Nick Nottoli and Corbin Peek followed a trio of Granite Bay runners, with a trio of Whitney freshmen coming in next… Peyton Boyd, Landon Wibbeler, and Michael Payan, all within 3 seconds of each other. Sophomore Tyler Herceg and freshmen Charlie Peek and Akanis Surapak all broke 16 minutes. Keep in mind, the course is not just very hilly, but it is also 2.1 miles, and that extra couple hundred meters accounts for close to a full minute.
For our varsity girls, it was the second week in a row going head to head with a top 5 section team. Granite Bay has a whole lot of young talent in a solid program, and their times are well within the range of what is generally needed to qualify for the state meet. Sophomore Katie Kopec continues to progress really well, and won comfortably. Freshman Ava Kopec toughed it out with a trio of Granite Bay runners, finishing just behind them in 5th to help lead Whitney. Senior Jessica Becker and freshman Grace Scott held their usual 3rd and 4th spots on the team. Senior Haley Bedrin was next, scoring in the top 5 for the first time this season. Congratulations Haley! Senior Kirsten Ransford, sophomore Mariana Blanding, and junior Natalie Eppler all finished in the 22-minute range–very tough to do on this course. Senior Grace Pierce held off the 6th Granite Bay runner, showing that although Whitney lost on points, our depth is still a strength. Senior Olivia Sauer and junior Rachel Tajiri are moving up in the pack and each broke 25. Junior Anna Giorgi finished a minute over the 30-minute barrier, and is making it a goal to break 30 at the next 5K. Senior Cassidy Ransford and juniors Kylee Wibbeler, Cailin Fitzgerald, Ashlyn Fujioka, and Hailey Kelly will all get a chance to improve upon the Willow Hills time as we get a much more level course next at Spring View.
Varsity boys were once again the final race. Similar to the previous week against Oak Ridge, our top 3 runners proved to be able to hold a fast pace that wore down the top runners from Granite Bay. Senior Byron Chadwick was the overall winner, looking lean and fresh throughout the race to cross in a very solid 16:45. Only two other runners on the day managed a time in the 16:40’s. Junior Ryan Hart took 2nd, and senior Jason Finta took 3rd. In a very strong finish, sophomore Teo Delgadillo took 4th after putting on a late surge in the final 1K to overtake the one remaining Granite Bay runner mixing with our top 5. Senior Aidan Ransford almost made it a clean sweep, finishing just one second back to place 6th. Again, team spread played a key role, with only 45 seconds from top to 5th for Whitney (most other teams average about a minute and a half). Just another 30 seconds back was sophomore Nick Herrmann. Fellow sophomores Callum Turner and Brandon Olah and juniors James Bowen and Hunter Schwab all broke 18 minutes, and pushed Granite Bay’s 3rd and 4th runners further back. Junior Charlie Gioia got in before the final scoring runner for the Grizzlies. Juniors Levi Chadwick and Connor Jacoby and seniors Luca Ruscica, Max Sommerhauser, and Dylan DeValk rounded out the Wildcats’ win.
Our final SFL dual meet will be this Saturday against Del Oro. The important side note is the meet will be at Spring View Park, which will be the first–and only–fairly level course with hopefully good, firm footing, meaning hopefully a fast course. Our runners are motivated to reach for some PR’s! Fingers crossed…