Arcadia High School’s (AHS) Cross Country team raced at Central Park, Huntington Beach, on Oct. 4. At the third meet of the season, the runners were able to secure many personal records (PR), and both varsity teams made it to sweepstakes in the event.
Everyone ran three miles, and many schools participated in this race. The meet started off with the Sweepstakes Boys division, a combination of the fastest teams and individuals. Senior Kyle Gonzalez was the fastest Boys Varsity runner in the meet as he came in 66th place with a time of 16 minutes and 16.9 seconds. Senior Lucas Xue followed up soon, reaching 72nd place with a time of 16 minutes and 23.3 seconds.
Additionally, apart from the Boys division, sophomore Sophia Wei from the Girls Varsity Cross Country team received a medal for placing in 42nd place, with a PR of 19 minutes and 16.1 seconds. Senior Meena Phan came up after, securing a time of 19 minutes and 34.2 seconds and getting 55th place.
“I kept a positive energy going for all three miles, and honestly, this race has me really hopeful for the future,” said Wei.
The Boys and Girls JV Cross Country teams also managed to acquire several victories of their own. Sophomore Kenneth Wang took 155th place with a time of 18 minutes and 56.2 seconds, followed by senior Simon Huber, who achieved 168th place with a time of 18 minutes and 59.8 seconds. Sophomore Yixin Guan came immediately after, securing 169th place and a time of 18 minutes and 59.9 seconds.
Freshmen Austin Ng, Haley McClain, Katherine Vo, and Genesis Valenciano all achieved PRs, placing 420th, 99th, 178th, and 294th place, respectively.
“The adrenaline kicked in and pushed me to do my best. I’d also like to thank the officials behind this meet for inviting us to such a great race,” said McClain.
The course was mostly flat, making it fast and convenient for runners, except for the massive hill about a mile in, which was extremely challenging to everyone’s endurance.
“The race was pretty hard, but all the early morning practices and intense workouts definitely helped us get through. It was also really fun getting to run and hang out with my teammates,” said Ng.
Overall, “the team executed very well and [are] excited to move on in [the] season,” said an AHS Assistant Coach Jose Reyes.
The team plans to continue training hard and focus on improving its times throughout the semester. It hopes to learn from this performance and demonstrate steady progress in the many meets still ahead.
