First cross country meet preps for districts

Published Oct. 22nd, 2023

Sports Editor

Long Le

The 5,000 meters race between David Douglas, Barlow, Corbett,  Crows, Portland Christians, and Trinity Academy. The Babson invitational track is the first cross country race of the season, hosted by Barlow on October 14th.

 The terrain mainly consists of 900 meters of rubber track mainly flat lands and a small forested area with steep and rolling hillside 

Sophomore Abshir Yusuf came in 7th place out of 55 runners with a final time of 19:46.20. In the beginning he was towards the front of the group top 5 to be spefic. Midway through the race he stayed consistent, being able to hold his position but he eventually got passed by runners that out paced him.  He is the overall best runner from this race according to Head Coach Max Rotar

Following behind Yusuf, Sophomore Stone Barron, placed 23rd with a final time of 21:47.80. According to Assistant Coach Grant Collins, Barron came back from an illness before the race but he raced the way he was supposed to. He went smooth and grinding on the hills.

Freshmans Runquan Mei, Elias Sanchez, placed 27th, 38th with a final time of 22:37.90, and 24:30.00 respectively. Mei started the race more conservatively in which it helped him stayed consistent and hold his 27th position. On the other hand Sanchez started the race more explosive as runners passed by him he increased in speed to pass them. Nearing the end Sanchez passed a Barlow runner by two meters to secure his placement.

“We treated that as an optional meet and we’re pretty proud of those four for stepping up and getting an extra race in the season.” said assistant coach Collins.

For the girls side they attended MHC Mid-Season held by Barlow 10 days earlier to the Babson invitational.

Sophomore Aline Lorenzo Reyes placed 3rd out of 34 runners, with a final time of 25:11.20. This was her 42 second lifetime best in this meet. She started off in the middle of the pack but within the last 15 minutes of the race she passed other runners to secure her 3rd place finish

Sophomore Daniela Garcia Ruelas placed 20th with a final time of 27:38.30. It was her personal best at this race finishing 1:30 minutes less. She runned aggressive from beginning to end and finish the race to secure her PR and the 20th place

Sophomore Nghi Luu placed 34th with a final time of 35:21.20. This is her first cross country race of the season. It is a good indicator to see where she was fitness wise. Overall she ran the hills well and stayed steady throughout. According to Coach Collins she is aiming for a PR at the district meet.

Overall the Scots Cross Country team is performing adequately. They’re still a young team, with a lineup full of freshmen, sophomores and one junior. The team is still recovering from their loss of numbers of plays from COVID. Though with this they’ll still work hard in order to prepare for districts. 

“They’ve been working very hard and we’re getting them prepared for districts,” 

said Rotar.