By Brandon Nguyen
The Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) cross country team raced in the Central Park Invitational this Saturday in a 3-mile race at Huntington Beach Central Park. The Barons finished in second place out of 24 teams with a runner average of 16 minutes and six seconds. This is one of two races of the Sunset League that will take place in Huntington Beach Central Park, which the Barons consider their home turf.
The meet started at 8:30 a.m. on a chilly day with a strong overcast on a grassy field. The crowd cheered energetically when the starter pistol rang. Then, the race took off with senior Luke Dias leading Fountain Valley, followed by junior Diego Alonso. The boys looped around a lake in the front.
Mid-way through, the runners crossed a bridge with supporters in the crowd cheering them on and parents with their cameras out. The track started getting steeper, with many runners sweating and breathing heavily.
In the last mile of the race, the Barons remained slightly grouped, with Dias remaining in the lead. Then, in the race’s final stretch, the athletes returned to the grassy park area for the last spring. Crowds of on-lookers and supporters cheered as Dias finished first for the Barons at 15 minutes and 32 seconds and seventh place overall. Alonso, who was close behind, finished at 15 minutes and 53 seconds and 11th place overall.
Behind a trail of runners from Redondo Union High School, senior Benjamin Prado finished third for the Barons at 16 minutes, five seconds, and 19th place overall. The race continued to tighten as the distance between runners finishing became closer and closer. Sophomore Ethan Kwong finished fourth for the Barons at 16 minutes and 16 seconds and 26th place overall. Junior Andrew Hsieh finished fifth for the Barons at 16 minutes and 40 seconds and 51st place overall.
Runners started to funnel out, catching their breath with onlookers providing water bottles and towels. Junior Bernando Enqiquez placed sixth for the Barons at 17 minutes, three seconds, and 76th place overall. Senior Andrew Hernandez finished strong for the Barons at 17 minutes and 13 seconds and 80th place overall.
As a team, the Barons finished in second place behind Redondo Union High School with a team runner average of 16 minutes and six seconds. With the race finishing, Dias reflected on his run and expressed excitement and nervousness about his performance.
“I was coming in front for the first half mile, and I realized I don’t want to be in the front. After that, I can’t pace properly,” Dias said. “It makes me feel good that I was able to push myself harder, but knew that my team could push themselves harder than.”
Head Coach Steven Knowles expressed his pride in the runners and excitement for future prospects. “Honestly, [Huntington Beach Central Park] is our home course, so this is a good precursor for all the teams in the Sunset League,” Knowles said. “This helps us prepare for League Finals and get ready for CIF. I expect our teams to make it to the [California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section] finals and potentially state.”
The Baron’s next game will be in the state of Washington next Saturday, Oct. 8th. It will be part of the Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational, considered one of the largest cross country meets in the Pacific Northwest. The Barons will be part of one of four teams from California.
