By JOSHUA KIM
Staff Writer
The Boys and Girls team both finished fourth as a team on the first league meet at Mason Park. The Cross Country team ran a race against Woodbridge, Irvine, Northwood, and Portola last Thursday on October 4th. The course was very familiar to the runners, so many were able to get their PRs (Personal Record).
The boys varsity team consisted of: senior captains Reese Carlton and Chris Lohmeyer, senior Abhishek Anish, juniors Raja Batra and Adam Gish and sophomores Dylan Muniz and Michael Blinstrub.
A couple of JV runners had to fill in for the varsity team this meet, as the team “ was missing [the] top runners, such as juniors Ryan Duffy and one of the other boys captains, Ethan Jenkins. I think if we can get them back healthy, we can make CIF,” Biology teacher and boys coach Eric Davies said after the game.
The Girls varsity team included: senior Cecilia Langlois, junior Avery Klauke, sophomores Collette Lowengrub, Amberley Martinez, and Marta Meinardi, freshmen Alissa Kopylova, and Gwen Sanders.
The course was a standard distance of 3 miles,but Blinstrub was able to break into the 15 minute mark with a time of 15:58.
“The race was amazing. I was feeling nervous before starting, but as soon as the gun went off, I felt like it was possible to break into the 15s, and I did,” Blinstrub said.
He finished 1st on the team and 15th overall in the entire meet.
Right behind Blinstrub was Batra, who also achieved a PR of 16:01.
“It was a good and fast race, I think we have a shot at CIF this year,” Batra said.
The rest of the runners finished with a time in the mid to high 16 minutes
Muniz finished first in the pack with a time of 16:34: “I was really happy with me and my teammates’ performance and I’m hoping to make CIF this year,” he said.
Behind Muniz were Lohmeyer and Carlton with a time of 16:40.
“The race was overall pleasant in terms of performance. I was frustrated by my injury which slowed me down a ton, but I’m still glad I got a PR,” Lohmeyer said.
Gish and Anish also ran below the 17 minute mark with a time of 16:45 and 16:58.
“Everyone did amazing, but personally, even though I got a PR by two seconds, I feel like I could have pushed myself a little harder. Also, I think everyone went out way too fast,” Gish recalled.
The Girls team also performed very well, as Lowengrub and Klauke finished 1st and 2nd in the entire race.
“We are really happy that we got first and second individually, and we will try to get the rest of the team going,” Mathematics Teacher and girls coach Courtney Mosey said.
Lowengrub achieved a PR and ran a time of 17:38, and placed herself into the top seven all time in the lowest Girls 3-mile time in school history.
“Overall, everyone ran really well with lots of PRs and I’m happy that I’m finally into the 17:30s,” she said.
Klauke also achieved a PR and ran a time of 17:52.
“I thought everyone did really well overall and I’m glad that I ran under 18 minutes for the first time,” she said.
Klauke also placed herself into the 11th spot in the 3-mile time school history.
Cross Country’s next meet will be Orange County Invitational, taking place at Irvine Lake on Saturday, October 13.