Cross country head coach Hannah Batchelor said the Lancers competed with about 300 other runners from a total of nine schools on Friday, Sept. 26.
Of the Lancer cross country runners, 15 placed in the top 10, including two first-place finishers, in their respective 3.1-mile races at the 31st annual Wayne Walker Invitational at Ralph B. Clark Park.
“I’m really proud of the performances my athletes had,” Batchelor said. “They worked really well at moving up and passing people, and even though they were in events divided by grade level, they all ended up very close together, which is just evidence of their ability to push themselves.”
Although Harvard-Westlake High School took first place in the boys and girls overall divisions, the Lancers, finishing second, collected 27 medals. Six groups — freshman, sophomore and senior girls and sophomore, junior and senior boys — placed in the top 10 in team results.
RESULTS FROM THE BOYS
Sophomore Charlie Muñoz was among the Lancers who won medals, placing first in the boys sophomore division with a time of 17 minutes and 02.7 seconds.
“Going into the race, I felt confident,” Muñoz said. “I felt the strongest going into the third mile up the hill because it definitely helped me surge more, and I managed to push through.”
Senior Ronin Nguyen finished closely behind with a seventh-place time of 18 minutes and 15.7 seconds.
“I felt really strong when I was coming down the hill and weakest at the end because I feel like I didn’t sprint as fast as I could have,” Nguyen said. “My strategy next time is to get out there and find someone to pace with.”
Evaluating the runners’ performance, Batchelor praised the results of the invitational.
“It’s really exciting to watch the progress the team has made since the beginning of the season, and I love seeing them race,” she said. “The hard work they put in every day is evident on days like this, where they are able to challenge themselves and push.”
RESULTS FROM THE GIRLS
The Lady Lancers also demonstrated strong competition at the invitational.
Senior Mia Gonzales blazed through the course and ended with a time of 20 minutes and 12.6 seconds, making her the fastest runner in her grade division.
“For this race, I wanted to go out hard and just hold first place the whole time,” Gonzales said. “I felt the strongest at the top of the hill because I knew I gained a bigger lead, but I struggled the most at the last half mile because I knew I had first place, so it was hard to find motivation to really push.”
The senior said she hopes to maintain her winning streak throughout the whole season.
“I’m really happy about getting first at this meet, but since it was a pretty small race, I’m looking forward to aiming for that top placement at a more intense meet,” she said.
Batchelor reflected on the meet and shared what she hopes the team will carry forward from this race.
“I think we can take lessons about being bold in races and being able to challenge yourself, even in a race that might seem intimidating,” Batchelor said. “I believe [the runners] have the training behind them to be able to excel.”
The next meet will be the Southern California Invitational, hosted in Oceanside on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 8 a.m.
