By Heather Carr
At the sound of the gun, girls cross-country runners took from the starting line and the sophomore division 1 race was underway.
In a sea of runners from schools all over Orange County, the Barons flew around the long valley loop and up one of the course’s three major hills, Switchbacks, and then down to the first mile mark.
The Fastback Shoot-out Invitational took place at Mount San Antonio College last Saturday. Each heat, unlike most meets, was divided by grade level.
The course was approximately 1.9 miles long, up rugged terrain, with temperatures ranging from 85-90 degrees. However, in spite of the high digits and challenging uphills, the Barons ran exceptionally well for their first race.
“I thought the team did an excellent job,” Coach Brian Bivens said. “We’re going out of our high-mileage phase and we’re using the races for speed work.”
The sophomore girls reached fourth place in their heat and the juniors placed eighth in one of the meet’s toughest divisions. Top performances included Mariana Chavez (’16) who ran a mile time of 12:57, and Valerie Stark (’14), who came in one second under Chavez.
The team is optimistic from their first meet of the season, although injuries have forced some of the girls to forgo the meet in order to recover. Varsity runner Amanda Stark (14) did not run due to an ankle injury. “I think the team’s going to be awesome,” she said. “I think we’re going to do really well and I will be racing again in about a week.”
The girls’ next race will be the Woodbridge Invitational at Estancia High School next Saturday. The Barons will race against Los Alamitos, Edison, and other teams in the Sunset League.
