Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Cross Country: Islanders Compete in Second League Cluster and Hoka One One Invitational

The boys’ varsity team placed third in the Second League Cluster meet. Photo by George Green

Last Wednesday, the Islander Cross Country team ran their second league cluster meet at Morley Field. “The girls’ team, although not yet at full strength, is starting to come along and placed second to Scripps Ranch out of the six schools in our league,” says Coach George Green. Senior Teresa Perez was the first runner to cross the finish line with a time of 18:49 (Mile Pace: 6:03), fourteen seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

Sofia Van Arsdale places ninth among fifty-three runners in the girls’ varsity race. Photo by George Green

Following Perez was sophomore Sofia Van Arsdale who placed fourth overall with a time of 19:30. Other finishers were Abby Hundley in ninth place (20:05), Madden Hundley (20:30), Lauren White (21:58), Regina Czerewko (22:00), and Jessie Ehret (22:11). After this meet, the girls’ team is now ranked ninth in the county and second in their division.

In the boys’ race, Spencer Busby finished first for the Islanders and fourth overall, clocking 16:36 (Mile Pace: 5:20), followed by Connor Jaynes in tenth place (17:02). Cole Mullins finished next for Coronado in 17:26, followed by Casey Harris (18:03), Landon Mullins (18:12), Grant Hawthorne (18:38), Cole Hutcherson (19:13), Gio Navarro (19:37), and Will Leonard (19:49). “Although the boys aren’t ranked among the top 10 teams in the country, they’re currently ranked third in our division,” shares Coach Green. “The top three teams at the CIF finals by division will advance to the state meet, so there’s a good chance that both the boys and girls will make the cut.”

Teresa Perez kicks it in during the last 200 meters of the Hoka One One 2-mile race. Photo by George Green

A small group of the varsity team traveled to University City High School for the Hoka One One (pronounced “oh-nee, oh-nee”) two-mile postal championships last Saturday. “Teams from all over the country compete in similar events and the results are tallied for a national 2-mile championship,” says Coach Green. In the girls’ race, Perez was defending her first-place title for the second year in a row. Among the top runners in this race were Stormy and Skyler Wallace from Sage Creek, who finished at the top of most of these invites. Toward the 1.5-mile point, Skyler Wallace and Perez began to pull away and lead the pack. In last 200 meters, Perez kicked at the end to win the race in 11:03.48 (two seconds faster than her 2-mile record) and defends her title. Van Arsdale placed tenth and set a PR time of 11:31.27. In the boys’ race, Busby (9:56) was the top finisher for the Islanders, followed by Cole Mullins (10:16) and Landon Mullins (10:46).

Click this link to watch Teresa overtake Skyler and just keep going for a strong finish (scroll ahead to video time 14:15 for that great ending). Well done Teresa!

https://bit.ly/2yAu3Xh

Upcoming Meet:

Wednesday, October 31 – Western League Finals at Morley Field



Andres de la Lama
Andres de la Lama
Andres is a senior at Coronado High School and has written for the Islander Times and The Coronado Times throughout his high school career. He has also been a proud part of Coronado’s Days for Girls chapter and this year’s president. Andres aspires to be a screenwriter will go on study creative writing in college. Have news to share? Send tips, story ideas or letters to the editor to: [email protected]

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