On Saturday, October 2nd, Whitney Cross Country Runners stepped to the line in seven races at our first real showcase event in 23 months. And when the dust settled, Whitney runners proved to be among the top in the region. There were over 60 teams, mostly from the Sac Joaquin Section, but also some top teams from other sections as well as the state of Nevada. Whitney placed 6th or better in each of the team competitions, including a dominant win by our frosh soph boys, and an impressive battle for 3rd in a stacked field by our varsity boys.
FROSH SOPH BOYS
The first race of the meet ended up being not just a team win, but team domination for Whitney. Going in, we knew our squad would be very competitive and among the top teams with a chance to be first. But in the end, Whitney won by more than 50 points. Noah Lopez challenged the front runner midway, then pushed to the lead and won convincingly. Joel Tajiri almost made it 1-2 on the home stretch, finishing 3rd. David Hurren had a breakthrough race, placing 8th, ensuring 3 Wildcats in the top 10. But we weren’t done yet, with Noah Reed working his way back to 100%, crossing the line in 18th, and Brendan Whitmore, who also hasn’t been 100% lately, right on his heels in 21st. Sixth man Perry Hutchinson finished 25th, capping off Whitney’s runners in a field of nearly 200. To give you an idea of how dominant this is, there were only two other teams that got their 3rd man in before our 6th and final man. Congratulations to our frosh soph boys!
FROSH SOPH GIRLS
A quick look at the results of the frosh soph girls race gives the appearance of the buddy system! We had 12 runners, and they all crossed the line in pairs. Freshmen Tess Curtis and Brooklynn Casey ended up just about a half minute apart when they finished. In front of them was the pair of Mallory Turner and Mykenzie Holyoak, and they were only one second apart. Not too far ahead of them were Sophia Sauer and sophomore Taylor Bettencourt, also just a second apart. Addie Keyes and Mandy Rao finished near 17-flat, with a mere 8 seconds between them. Sophomores Kaylee Holyoak and Katie Hart are accustomed to racing together, and went 16:30 and 16:31 respectively. Our top tandem was rising freshman Izzy Soto and sophomore Sophie Bowen, both making it in the top 10, finishing 6th and 7th respectively. All in all, the buddy effort produced a solid 6th place overall in the team scoring.
FROSH SOPH BOYS – UNLIMITED
Bigger meets sometimes have an “unlimited” division for large programs. With the frosh soph boys race entries capped at 7, most of our frosh soph boys ran in the unlimited race. In one of the biggest highlights of the day for Whitney Distance, sophomore Landon Wibbeler got 2nd place, and training partner Peyton Boyd came in 5th. The first half of the race had only Jesuit and Davis runners in the front 10 or 12, but stage by stage, these two Whitney runners broke up the D1 pack. Freshmen Tyler Kubota and Victor Needham, like Landon and Peyton, train and race together, and finished 3-4 for Whitney. Three sophomores came in next, with Akanis Surapak (who continues to rise each week), Mikey Payan and Charlie Peek rounding out our top 7. Freshman Brady Quinn is working really well to keep close to this trio, and was just about 20 seconds back. Fellow freshmen Max Bowen, Jack Regan, and Aaron Humphries (who is not 100%, but showing incredible determination) as well as sophomores Joey Gloria and Carter McBride continue to improve. Whitney placed 3rd in team scoring.
VARSITY GIRLS
With top runner Katie Kopec not racing, it was up to sophomore Ava Kopec to lead the Lady ‘Cats. And did she ever! Ava ran a masterful race, outlasting several top runners to place 2nd individually, and lead Whitney to 6th in team scoring. Ava’s time of 19:19 is one of the fastest times ever for a Whitney girl at Willow Hill; to date, no Whitney girl has broken 19 minutes on the very challenging course. Sophomore Grace Scott, gaining strength more and more each week, ran tough as Whitney’s 2nd runner, placing 32nd overall. Seniors Kylee Wibbeler and Rachel Tajiri, and junior Tyler Williams packed it up for most of the race, ensuring a strong 3-4-5 for a team result that indicates Whitney ladies are a top 10 section contender.
VARSITY BOYS
The Tom Laythe Invitational was billed as a showcase event as several top level programs were registered to converge at Willow Hill, drawing Central Coast Section power Monta Vista and Nevada power Reno to go 1-2 in team scoring. Then the battle of Sac Joaquin heavyweights played out as Whitney, Vacaville, Davis, Jesuit, and Bella Vista all tangled for a tight outcome. Whitney was just one point behind Reno (who had beaten us by 61 points at NU), and Vacaville tied us on points, needing our 6th man to break the tie. Just a few points back was Davis and Jesuit, each missing key runners, so they figure to be much stronger when they line up fully. It was a very exciting race, with Whitney’s Cole Jamieson climbing up to 13th at the finish, passing the 3 top Vacaville runners in the final half mile. Super consistent fellow junior Nick Herrmann, despite having an achilles issue, placed 22nd, with Teo DelGadillo coming in at 27th. Seniors James Bowen and Hunter Schwab–both rising up–rounded out Whitney’s scoring as our 4th and 5th runners. Juniors Callum Turner and Jaden Rapp displaced many scoring runners from top teams to strengthen Whitney’s outcome. Whitney’s performance indicates we should once again be one of the top teams at section finals next month.
JV GIRLS
Due to the race schedule and other things going on, Whitney did not field a complete team in the JV girls race. Two seniors did step to the line… Anna Giorgi and Jaqui Alvarez. Anna placed 22nd, completing the 3400 meter course in just over 21 minutes. Jaqui was 27th, finishing in just over 25 minutes.
JV BOYS
With Whitney’s varsity boys being so strong and deep, that means our JV is a higher level squad than most other JV teams. Our JV boys would make up a pretty solid varsity squad for most programs in the area. Junior Aidan Barkve has had his share of outstanding races this season, finishing 1st or 2nd multiple times. At Willow Hill, things were no different, as Aidan climbed the Whitney way, from a bit back in the pack up to 2nd place at the end. Fellow juniors Brandon Olah and Dario Ruscica each placed in the top 10, with senior Levi Chadwick right behind in 12th. Rookie senior Alex Wan, whose fitness is kicking in lately, worked up to 5th man to score for Whitney, helping his team finish 2nd overall. Juniors Corbin Peek and Tyler Herceg were right with Alex, displacing scorers from other teams.