alexethridge Fri Oct 23, 2009 2:00 amIt’s 6 in the morning on a Tuesday, and while the rest of the world is asleep, the Arcadia High School Girls Cross Country team is already in the pool for yet another morning workout before school. Although tired, groggy, and desperately longing to return to be, they brave the freezing waters for some extra training before a race. Through rain, cold, and roasting heat, the Arcadia girls train to improve and compete.
The Apaches are consistently led this season by solid efforts from state-ranked junior and athletic superstar Catrina McAlister, who placed 6th at the prestigious Woodbridge Invitational with a stellar time of 16:50 for the three mile course, and followed this meet with a successive string of impressive victories.
With teamwork, spirit, and dedication, the varsity girls defeated long time rival La Crescenta Valley for the first time in eight years. This victory can be attributed to inspired performances from seniors Veronica Yee and Casandra Llamas, first year runners Glindyll Mancia and Alejandra Quintero, and an exceedingly improved sophomore Naomi Wilcox, for whom a summer of dedication has paid off. After all of their time and hard work invested in their sport, the girls have something to show for it.
At the second league meet, which took place on October 15th, the girls ran against an energized Crescenta Valley team on the CV home course. Their rivals were determined to avenge their previous loss and gave an outstanding performance. Despite admirable efforts from Yee, who took 6th, and sophomore Iris Wang who placed 14th behind another win by McAlister, the Girls Cross Country team suffered an unexpected defeat with 22-33. On a brighter note, the Junior Varsity Girls Cross Country team, led by senior Alex Dreves, continued its reign of victory in the Pacific League with another triumphant win. Last but not least, the Frosh/Soph team finished fourth with thanks to steady performances by freshman Lila Vasquez and sophomores Helen Chou and Joyce Liao. With the JV and Frosh Soph seasons almost over, junior Nancy Lam represents the team’s sentiments, saying, “This season we were really strong overall, but we don’t measure our season by wins or losses – the hours together rooting for each other and the Saturdays where we suffer through workouts together are what really make our sport worth it.”
On November 5th, the Varsity girls will return to Griffith Park for League Finals in hopes of redeeming themselves with a victory. A week afterwards at CIF Preliminaries, the girls will attempt a berth at CIF Finals for the first time in 51 years. Ranked 15th in the Southern Section Division I, the 2009 Arcadia Girls Cross Country team is arguable the strongest it has ever been in school history, giving it a good chance at making CIF. Senior Veronica Yee says, “All our varsity runners have run times in the 19s for races, and we’re all running really well. Basically, it’s all or nothing.”
Hopefully this will be the year where the Varsity girls can finally race proudly at CIF Finals. Good luck ladies!
The Apaches are consistently led this season by solid efforts from state-ranked junior and athletic superstar Catrina McAlister, who placed 6th at the prestigious Woodbridge Invitational with a stellar time of 16:50 for the three mile course, and followed this meet with a successive string of impressive victories.
With teamwork, spirit, and dedication, the varsity girls defeated long time rival La Crescenta Valley for the first time in eight years. This victory can be attributed to inspired performances from seniors Veronica Yee and Casandra Llamas, first year runners Glindyll Mancia and Alejandra Quintero, and an exceedingly improved sophomore Naomi Wilcox, for whom a summer of dedication has paid off. After all of their time and hard work invested in their sport, the girls have something to show for it.
At the second league meet, which took place on October 15th, the girls ran against an energized Crescenta Valley team on the CV home course. Their rivals were determined to avenge their previous loss and gave an outstanding performance. Despite admirable efforts from Yee, who took 6th, and sophomore Iris Wang who placed 14th behind another win by McAlister, the Girls Cross Country team suffered an unexpected defeat with 22-33. On a brighter note, the Junior Varsity Girls Cross Country team, led by senior Alex Dreves, continued its reign of victory in the Pacific League with another triumphant win. Last but not least, the Frosh/Soph team finished fourth with thanks to steady performances by freshman Lila Vasquez and sophomores Helen Chou and Joyce Liao. With the JV and Frosh Soph seasons almost over, junior Nancy Lam represents the team’s sentiments, saying, “This season we were really strong overall, but we don’t measure our season by wins or losses – the hours together rooting for each other and the Saturdays where we suffer through workouts together are what really make our sport worth it.”
On November 5th, the Varsity girls will return to Griffith Park for League Finals in hopes of redeeming themselves with a victory. A week afterwards at CIF Preliminaries, the girls will attempt a berth at CIF Finals for the first time in 51 years. Ranked 15th in the Southern Section Division I, the 2009 Arcadia Girls Cross Country team is arguable the strongest it has ever been in school history, giving it a good chance at making CIF. Senior Veronica Yee says, “All our varsity runners have run times in the 19s for races, and we’re all running really well. Basically, it’s all or nothing.”
Hopefully this will be the year where the Varsity girls can finally race proudly at CIF Finals. Good luck ladies!