By Justin Hsieh
The Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) cross country team raced the Huntington Beach High School (HBHS) Oilers this morning, a highly anticipated showdown that ended with the Barons’ varsity boys sprinting down a gauntlet of screaming teammates to snatch a hairbreadth victory and secure a 4-0 season win streak alongside the varsity girls.
The meet, held on a three-mile course that looped through and around HBHS campus, began with the boys’ junior varsity race. While the Barons lost this first event to the Oilers, sophomore frontrunners Andrew Hernandez and Dylan Newcomb both set personal records (PRs), crossing the finish at 18:04 and 18:10, respectively.
“It was a good race,” Andrew Hernandez said. “I got outkicked at the end of the race, and I was kind of mad about that, but it was just a good, fun race. [The course was a] tad bit long, and going into the race I was kind of sore and my legs were killing me, but it was a good race overall and our season is looking pretty good.”
The junior varsity boys were followed by the varsity girls, where junior Kaho Cichon dominated once again, taking first with a finishing time (17:46) almost an entire thirty seconds before her closest competitor. Senior Lauren Berg and junior Leah Ferris led the girls to follow up by taking fourth through seventh place, securing a Fountain Valley victory in the race.
“This was my first time running by myself without a rabbit [a non-competitor who leads the runners through the course on a bicycle] or someone to pace me,” Cichon said. “I was a little nervous at first because I was unfamiliar with the course and I felt as though I would be running my own race. But after racing and running my PR again I feel more confident in what I am capable of achieving.”
After the varsity girls crossed the line, the nervous attention of coaches, athletes and parents turned to the varsity boys, whose race was correctly expected to be extremely competitive. The Barons regarded the faceoff, led by the league’s two fastest runners in FVHS senior Dezi Hernandez and HBHS junior Nolan Walt, as likely their toughest race of the year, and the one that might break their until-then undefeated record.
“I was super excited for both teams,” girls’ coach Stacy Ferris said. “But I think I was more excited for the boys, because I knew that they were going to be head-to-head; it’s nice to have competition against a good rival school in our league—so that was fun.”
The race took off with Dezi Hernandez and FVHS sophomore Ben Prado edging ahead of a consolidated HBHS pack led by Walt, with the FVHS boys grouped together immediately behind them. As the race progressed, Walt and Dezi Hernandez left the others behind, with Prado leading a continuously mixing series of Baron and Oiler runners.
In the last mile of the course, Dezi Hernandez trailed Walt by a few meters, leading FVHS and HBHS teammates alike to swarm over hills and cut across courtyards screaming encouragement at their leaders. In the final stretch of the race, as the athletes returned to the track for a final half-lap between rows of hoarse and anxious onlookers on both sides, Walt opened up a seven-second lead and claimed first for the Oilers with a time of 15:47 to Dezi Hernandez’s 15:54.
The excitement, however, did not abate after Fountain Valley’s loss of the close contest for first finisher—and Barons and Oilers alike quickly turned away from the finish to watch the oncoming racers, whose placements would decide the team scores and the overall race result. Dezi Hernandez was followed by Prado (16:15) in third place, two Huntington Beach athletes in fourth and fifth, and then—to an exultant roar from Fountain Valley’s side of the field—a tight Baron pack led by senior Jaden Nguyen that took sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth place and secured victory for FVHS.
“Never have I been so happy and proud of my team,” boys’ coach Steven Knowles said. “They came back at the end and passed all those runners—normally it’s our one and two that carry the team; this time it was the back half and they passed all those guys at the end and it just shows how strong our team is, how much depth it has, and how much heart and spirit they have. And I’m trying not to cry, I’m so happy.”
For Dezi Hernandez, whose close second to Walt fell short of his goal of being individually undefeated in the season, the team victory was fortifying, and gave him a visible optimism despite his personal disappointment.
“You know, the team won, so that’s good,” Dezi Hernandez said. “I wish I could have held on, won another race, but I guess it’s just a lesson; things don’t always go as you plan, and you’ve got to brace yourself for that and you can’t beat yourself up for it. One loss, you know. You’ve just got to keep moving forward. And there’s still League Finals, so there’s a chance at redemption.”
Ferris was similarly happy about the upcoming remainder of the season.
“So far, I’m just excited that they got a season, and that both teams are undefeated—that’s exciting,” Ferris said. “[We’re racing] Marina [High School] next week, and then League Finals, and then track season; we’re looking forward to that. All the teammates are supportive and it’s just a great group this year, so I’m super excited that we get to be out here and running.”
