Cross country season comes to a successful close with the conclusion of the CIF Finals, State, Hoka, and Footlocker races.
Both guys and girls placed at CIF Finals, which took place on Nov.22 at the Mt. SAC course. As a team, the boys placed 4th, with junior Colby Penn paving the road with a time of 15:14, giving him 36th place out of 100. The girls team placed 5th, led by sophomore Melissa Tanaka, who finished with a time of 18:39 giving her 24th place out of 100.
“I was so happy when I found out that our team had made it to state,” said Tanaka. “Everyone was crowded together, and when we heard the good news, we all started jumping around and screaming.”
Despite fatigue due to long, intense workouts, both boys and girls ran their best. “The race was difficult because our team have had a very long, hard season and though at the end, all of our bodies were pretty sore and beat up, I think I did pretty well and I know our team did much better than we all had expected,” said Tanaka.
State finals took place exactly a week after on Saturday, Nov. 29 in Fresno, California. Junior Gian Delfin took the lead, with a time of 16:16, followed by Penn, who ran a 16:21. Following close behind was sophomore Hugo Novoa, who ran a 16:23, and senior Matthew Oca, with a time of 16:28. Finishing strong were junior Conor Ragland, senior Brennan Bruggeman, and freshman Eric Hatch, with times of 16:41, 16:55, and 16:57 respectively.
The girls were once again led by Tanaka, who finished with a time of 19:05, followed by sophomore Juliane Douds, freshmen Fiona O’Leary and Leslie Diaz, who ran with times of 19:15, 19:19, and 19:22. Closing for Poly were sophomores Lauren Fillipow, Brenda Rosales, and Olivia Gleason, with times of 19:30, 19:31, and 19:39. Poly took state by storm, with the boys placing 12th overall, while the girls placed 9th out of all the top cross country teams in the state.
“It was such a euphoric moment. It was so satisfying to know all of our hard work paid off,” said Oca. “The most difficult thing about the courses was being able to strategize your effort at certain portions of the course and being patient to make your move.”
Unfortunately, they did not qualify for Nationals, but the cross country team still ended the season on a fair note.
“Personally, I feel I gave it my all and can look back without regrets which is great since it was my last high school cross country season,” added Oca.
Though the official cross country season ended with the CIF State race, there were two open races held afterward: Hoka and Footlocker. Hoka took place on Dec. 4 at Cerritos College, where once again Poly dominated with Novoa taking first place. “It was fun and I made the best of it, even if it was a small race,” said Novoa.
Footlocker was held on Dec .6, again at Mt.SAC, and was open to all runners. “It was different not racing with Poly on your chest,” said junior Carl Hatch. “It was a great opportunity to learn about the course for next season.”
The cross country team has begun its transition to outdoor track and hopes for an equally successful season.
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