By TYLER CASHMAN
Staff Writer
On September 19 and 20, the University High School (UHS) cross country team competed in the 34^th Woodbridge Cross Country Classic. For the first time in UHS cross country history, the girls JV team placed 1st at the Woodbridge Classic, finishing with a point total of 107 and a time of 1:44:01.
The meet was held at the Great Park  due to construction at Estancia High School, where the event is typically held. Over 200 teams competed at the event in over 100 different events. The Trojans competed in Division III, competing against schools such as Laguna Hills, Godinez, and Irvine High School. Multiple UHS runners performed well at the event. Tanner Schiedow (Sr.) and Nathaniel Herrera (Sr.) both placed in the top 35 for the boys Senior Event, finishing 26^th and 33^rd respectively. The UHS boys came in 7^th in the overall team event for Senior boys with a total final score of 188 points. Janine Bryant (So.) put up an impressive performance in the girls Sophomore event, placing second out of 162 participants with a time of 19:15. Sarah Stern (Sr.) was the only UHS runner to place in any of the All-Division events; she placed 47^th in the All-Division 3 mile Varsity girls event on Saturday with a time of 18:16. She said, “The Woodbridge Classic is the only night meet we run at, and running under not only the lights but also the orange balloon was a lot of fun! So many people did really well, running PRs [personal records] or at least improving a lot from last week’s race, when we braved the oppressive heat.”
Team member Isabelle Langlois (Jr.), whose points contributed to the JV girls’ victory, said, “It was hotter than usual and made me sore, but the win felt great. We got 3^rd two years ago and 2^nd last year, so it was fitting that we won this year.” Kyra Schmidt (Sr.) said, “Super excited to have placed first out of over 30 schools for JV girls. We couldn’t have done it without everyone out there trying their best. All our other runners also did amazing and I’m really proud of the entire team.”
The Trojans are off to a strong start. University Cross Country is looking solid as they head into their next couple meets. The team’s next meet will be the Stanford Invitational on September 27 at Palo Alto High School.