For the first time in nearly two years, host Whitney and 24 other programs were finally able to gather for a normal high school cross country invitational. As the Whitney Distance Coaching Staff planned and prepared for this event with Sierra College XC Coach Jim Howard, we were watching health protocols; but in the final days leading up to the event, it was the smoky skies that threatened cancellation. Fortunately, after a week that forced two practice cancellations, conditions on Saturday morning were cool and clear.
The format we chose for this meet was to keep everyone age pure. No varsity or JV, just by grade level.
FRESHMAN GIRLS
It’s always exciting to see runners in their first ever high school XC race. Whitney had a full squad of 7 freshman girls… Brooklynn Casey, Mykenzie Holyoak, Sophia Sauer, and Mandy Rao all finished a difficult 2-mile course. Mallory Turner did really well to place in the top 40. Shay Waters and Izzy Soto blazed their way into the top 10, with Izzy placing 8th and Shay crossing the line in 5th place. Our girls placed 5th as a team.
FRESHMAN BOYS
Right after the girls finished, our freshman boys toed the line. Cody Wagner ran the Whitney way, settling in at first to find his pace, then went to work and climbed all the way to 5th at the finish. Tyler Kubota, Victor Needham, Max Bowen, Aaron Humphries, and Jack Regan combined to help the team to finish 5th in team scoring.
SOPHOMORE GIRLS
Ava Kopec has won her share of races in her young high school career. For those of you who are new to the program, Ava was a freshman just a few months ago when she shocked many spectators to beat an elite field of 800m runners and become SFL Champion to cap off the 2021 track season. Her winning ways continued at the Sierra Invitational, when she ran with the front runners before pulling away convincingly in the final 1K. Also competing with the front runners was Grace Scott who finished 8th. Not far behind were Sophie Bowen, Katie Hart, and Kaylee Holyoak (new to distance running and is a wonderful surprise!), each of whom finished in the top 20, and Ashley Beals, to bolster a strong 2nd place team score.
SOPHOMORE BOYS
One of our strongest and deepest squads is our sophomore boys. These guys enter the 2021 XC season as undefeated SFL champions, and following an incredible showing during track season. Noah Lopez, in perhaps the most impressive race of the day, not only won his race, but was Whitney’s fastest runner on the day. Also, Noah, as a sophomore, set the 5th fastest mark of all races combined, and was one of only 6 runners total to break 11 minutes on the challenging 2-mile course. As if that’s not impressive enough, the team dominated to easily win by more than 50 points. That’s because Joel Tajiri, Brendan Whitmore (massive improvement!), and Noah Reed (also massive improvement!) all finished in the top 7. A half minute later, Perry Hutchinson, David Hurren, and Anthony Berg crossed the line in the top 20. Peyton Boyd, Landon Wibbeler, Akanis Surapak (showing huge improvement), Michael Payan, Charlie Peek, and newcomer Carter McBride kept the maroon wave rolling, displaying superior depth.
JUNIOR GIRLS
This is our one group that didn’t have enough to score as a team. Five runners are needed for team scoring, and Whitney had three juniors available. But those 3 ran lights out! Katie Kopec found herself where she is accustomed to being… grinding in a crowd with elite Oak Ridge runners. Most in that front pack fell off, but Katie kept the pace for a very close 4th place, and the fastest time for a Whitney girl overall. Mariana Blanding was 20th and Tyler Williams 27th.
JUNIOR BOYS
If there is one squad that might be as strong as our sophomore boys, it would be the junior boys. Like their younger counterparts, the junior boys won their team competition by a large margin. Although our juniors did not feature an individual winner, three of the top 5, five of the top 10, and eight of the top 16 runners were from Whitney. Half of the first 16 runners in the race were maroon and gold. Mateo DelGadillo ran the Whitney way, settling into the right pace, then patiently going to work. Mateo climbed the ladder up to the lead group and eventually finished 2nd. Cole Jamieson, not far behind, put on a vicious kick to eclipse the next runner and grab 3rd. Five seconds later came Nick Herrmann in 5th place. Next for Whitney came Brandon Olah and Jaden Rapp, both finishing in the top 10. Less than 30 seconds later was a trio of maroon and gold… Callum Turner, Dario Ruscica (improving like crazy), and Aidan Barkve, all in the top 16. Corbin Peek and Tyler Herceg added to Whitney’s undeniable depth and team win.
SENIOR GIRLS
The final races of the day were the seniors. The Lady Wildcats placed 2nd as a team on the strength of a “4-pack”. Natalie Eppler, Rachel Tajiri, Kylee Wibbeler, and Ashlyn Fujioka ran the race together and finished within a couple seconds of each other. Hailey Kelly, Cailin Fitzgerald, Anna Giorgi, and Jaqui Alvarez added to Whitney’s depth.
SENIOR BOYS
And in the final race of the day, Whitney’s senior boys were also 2nd in team scoring, with two runners in the top 10. Ryan Hart and Hunter Schwab finished just a half second apart, going 8th and 9th respectively. James Bowen was less than 20 seconds back, followed by Connor Jacoby, Levi Chadwick, and Alex Wan (new to XC and just starting as a distance runner).
Overall, the Whitney Distance Team shined bright in the first major invitational in quite some time. Whitney won the medal count at 17, meaning there more individual runners from Whitney in the top 10 of the day’s races than any other program. There is nothing to indicate Whitney won’t be once again one of the top programs in the region this season. Go ‘Cats!!!