By Justin Hsieh, News Editor
This morning, the boys’ and girls’ cross country teams competed at the 46th annual Dana Hills Nike Invitational. With a high number of personal records (PRs) set across all levels on both teams, the Barons gave an exceptional performance as they head into the thick of their season.
The Barons first competed in the Division 1 boys’ senior/invitational race, a mixed event including both seniors and varsity runners. The varsity team was led by senior Kyle Meis and junior Hunter Augstus, who set PRs of 16:09 and 16:20 in the three-mile race. Although the varsity team overall raced slower than expected, the other seniors in the senior/invitational race managed to all PR, with senior Uy Tran leading the pack at 17:57.
“Overall, I felt like my race was okay,” said Augustus. “I was able to get a small PR, but I also felt like I could’ve done a lot better. The team’s performance at the race today was outstanding. Many people got large PR’s, and were able to place in their respective races. I believe that our team will continue to improve and do great this season.”
The second race of the day was the girls’ senior/invitational race, where the Baron girls gave a solid performance. Led by senior Maddie Jahshan and sophomore Leah Ferris, who placed 17th and 48th out of 166 with respective times of 17:53 (a PR) and 18:38, four out of the six girls who ran set PRs.
“I definitely felt like I could have done better, because I really wanted to break 18 today,” said Ferris. “However, I was feeling really bad considering I have been pretty sick the past few days… I am still pretty proud that I was able to run in the 18:30s for being sick. I am very happy about my team’s performance… I feel great things coming our way, I think we have a great chance [of] winning League Finals for the fourth time in a row and going to CIF prelims and CIF finals.”
After the girls’ invitational race, the six-man junior boys’ team took off from the line. Notable performances included Aaron Sun and Michael Pohl, who set respective PRs of 18:54 and 18:57. The boys were led by Jaden Nguyen, who after being out two months for injuries was able post an impressive time of 17:27.
“[During the race I was] just trying to run my own race, even though I didn’t have any teammates with me, and reclaim a varsity spot,” said Nguyen. “I’m pretty happy with my performance considering that I haven’t been running for two months… For the team, the varsity squad for League Finals is looking pretty good, it’s super competitive.”
In the girls’ junior race, Lauren Berg and Hillary Nguyen led all four girls to PRs, with Berg and Nguyen finishing at respective times of 19:45 and 22:02.
“The race was awesome,” said Berg. “I PRed, and I was really happy with my time and it felt good. [Before the race, I was thinking] it’s going to be a good race, just positive thinking. During the race I was just trying to pass the girl in front of me. I’m really excited for season – everyone seems to be doing really well, and we all like each other, and it feels good.”
The sophomore boys’ race saw breakthrough performances by Shane Hill and Jonathan D’Ambrosio, who placed 25th and 37th out of 230, respectively, with a 55-second PR of 16:36 and a one-minute PR of 16:47. Overall, an astonishing 13 of the Barons’ 19 sophomore boys PRed.
“I felt really good, I’m excited I got a huge PR,” said D’Ambrosio. “During the race I was just thinking to go out fast because I knew the last mile’s going to be fast anyway so I knew that if I pushed myself in the beginning I would still be able to keep my pace towards the end of the race. The season’s going great so far, I finally broke my barrier and the team is doing great, a bunch of people got their PRs today.”
The girls’ sophomore race was similarly spectacular, with Kaho Cichon and Samantha Martinez both placing in the top 10 of 146. Cichon won the race with a PR of 18:17, and Martinez placed eighth with a PR of 18:53.
“I’m actually really happy because I did pretty well for my first race of the season,” said Cichon. “I was really nervous, I woke up unsure if I even wanted to run – I’ve had a cold for the past couple days, I wasn’t feeling well. I was really tired on the bus. But during the race, I just focused, didn’t think about the pain, and kept breathing and telling myself to breathe.”
After the sophomore races, the freshman boys were ready to top the performance of their sophomore counterparts. All 17 runners PRed, with leaders Luke Dias and Benjamin Prado placing 28th and 34th out of 273 with respective times of 17:19 and 17:25.
“During the race I was so focused on trying to be fast that I kind of just blanked out and started running faster and passed Ben, which was my main goal,” said Dias. “I really just want to make people happy and support them. I feel like we will do good because we do have a lot of new freshmen, and hopefully the team will grow bigger.”
The Barons closed the day with the girls’ freshman race. Out of a total of 172 competitors, leaders Kierra Tallas, Sierra Springer and Evelyn To finished 54th, 61st and 62nd with respective PRs of 20:54, 21:18 and 21:18.
“I am very proud of my performance because I broke 21,” said Tallas. “Before the race, I was kind of scared and I thought it would be really crowded and it was really pushy. During the race, I was just thinking don’t give up because I was so close to the finish line. I’m very excited for season; I think I can get a lot faster now that I know this training has paid off.”
Overall, the Barons raced excellently at the Dana Hills Nike Invitational, making breakthroughs in multiple levels that bode well for their season and their future.
“I am super stoked,” said Boys’ Head Coach Steven Knowles. “So many kids got personal records, and not by just a few seconds – like a minute, two minutes. And it wasn’t just my fast guys, it was the slowest guys on the team; I had a kid improve by five minutes today in one race. I love the direction that the team’s going, I think it’s a bright future for years to come. I think we’re still building this year, and I hold out hope for CIF – but next year, no problem.”
Girls’ Coach Stacy Ferris is similarly optimistic about the future of the girls’ team, which after an overall merge of scores from Divisions 1-3 ended up placing 10th out of 92 schools at the invitational.
“I honestly couldn’t be more pleased with the performances,” said Ferris. “This race gave the whole team confidence in the next month of racing to come… including OC Champs, League Finals, and CIF. They should continue to drop these times and do very well in League and likely qualify for CIF prelims.”
This article was updated on Sept. 29, 2019 to include the girls’ placement in the merged rankings and the comment from Coach Stacy Ferris.
