By Justin Hsieh, Staff Writer
This morning, the boys’ cross country team gave yet another spectacular performance at their third three-mile race of the season, the Dana Hills Invitational. With a total of 18 personal records (PRs) today, the team’s prospects continue to look bright as their season gets into full swing.
The Barons’ first race was at 8 a.m. when they took to the starting line for the senior/varsity race. Four of the six runners set personal records, with leading seniors Yuki Watanabe and Justin Schmidt coming in at blazing personal bests of 15:34 and 15:42, respectively, to both place in the top 50.
“It was a very fast race. There was a lot of downhill, and even though it was difficult to get around all the other athletes, in the end, we were able to push through for an amazing performance,” said Watanabe. “For the senior boys’ race, I think that the definite MVP today was Justin Schmidt, who had an amazing PR.”
Half an hour later, four more Barons took off at the gun signaling the beginning of the junior boys’ race. Although the boys suffered a rough race, William Tran still managed to achieve a PR, stopping the clock at 20:26.
At 9 a.m., the sophomore boys hit the dirt, ending with seven out of the 13 runners achieving PRs. Especially exciting were the performances of leaders Hunter Augustus, Jaden Nguyen, and Michael Mockus, who ran blindingly fast sophomore times of 16:54, 16:56, and 17:02, respectively. All three placed in the top 50 of their race.
“The race was awesome. It was really fast and really fun. Even though one of us was injured and unable to compete, I feel like the rest of the sophomore boys all worked really well together and had an amazing race,” said Augustus.
Finally, at 9:30 a.m., the freshmen boys led the Barons to an outstanding conclusion of their day, with seven out of the eight runners PRing in a show that managed to top the performance of the sophomores who preceded them. Abraham Morales, Jonathan D’Ambrosio, and Asher Bradshaw, all of whom placed in the top 50, led the pack with respective times of 18:19, 18:24, and 18:28.
“It felt amazing,” said Morales. “[The course] was fast, blazing fast. We did really well, better than I expected – especially [Keoni Porter], who broke 20 in his first race. The season so far has been great, and we’re going to try to be even better next time.”
Overall, the Barons’ third race of the year showed that they are still rolling with the momentum of their previous two races, a favorable sign as they transition into the bulk of their competitive season.
“I’m very happy with the performances today,” said Coach Luis Morales. “Everything’s coming together; we’re now finishing the first phase of our season, and it’s very encouraging to see us running times these fast. I think that courses such as this one help runners to find the confidence they need as they learn to be tougher and faster than they ever have been. We’re now ready to start the second phase of our workouts, where we’ll form the adaptations that we need to keep up these times on harder courses.”
