Last Friday, the Mt. SAC Invitational meet in Walnut, California was dominated by Coronado’s girls and boys cross country teams. Being one of the toughest meets of the season, this course features a series of hard, steep hills, challenging the runners’ physical condition and mental tenacity. Coronado competed against schools from all over California, which gave them an accurate preview of where the teams stand for the state meet.
For the first time since 2009, the Coronado Girls’ Cross Country team swept the Division IV-V Sweepstakes race. With five finishers in the top twenty, they beat a total of fifteen schools from across the state. Junior Teresa Perez won the race out of 100 finishers in a final sprint, clocking 17:50 (Mile Pace: 5:56) on this difficult course. Click here to watch the RunnerSpace.com interview with Teresa after her incredible performance. She was followed by Madden Hundley, who placed eleventh in the race, with a time of 19:12 (Mile Pace: 6:24). Naya Tamariz finished in fourteenth place, and was then followed by Abigail Hundley, Jessica Ehret, and Claire Morris. We congratulate the girls’ team for their outstanding victory!
The boys’ team was also successful in Division IV, placing second out of 26 teams in their race. Junior Spencer Busby placed fourth out of over 150 runners, finishing in 16:07 (Mile Pace: 5:22). Following Spencer was Ian Hurlburt, who finished in fourteenth place, with a time of 16:43 (Mile Pace: 5:34). Connor Jaynes placed twentieth, followed by Patrick Harris, Cole Mullins, and Casey Harris.
Earlier last week, both teams ran in the second league cluster at Morley Field against Scripps Ranch, Cathedral Catholic, University City, La Jolla, and Serra High Schools. Both boys and girls teams placed third in their races, which placed them in third in the Western League. Teresa Perez won her race, with a time of 18:37 (Mile Pace: 6:03), while Spencer Busby placed fifth in his race, clocking 16:38 (Mile Pace: 5:24). Connor Jaynes finished in ninth place and PR’d with a time of 16:50 (Mile Pace: 5:28).
After the results of the Mt. SAC Invitational were considered, the San Diego Coaches Poll ranked the Islander girls third in the county, behind La Costa Canyon and Canyon Crest. Among all the Division IV teams, they were ranked as the top team. Teresa Perez is now ranked fifth in the entire county and seventh statewide. The boys did not make the top ten teams in the county, but they are currently ranked second in Division IV.
Next Meet:
Saturday, October 28 – Hoka Postal 2-Mile Invitational
Photos by George Green
