Last week, 16 Yellowjackets set personal records in cross country’s first two official meets of the season.
On Wednesday, Colton ran in its first league meet of the year at Martin Tudor Park. Then, on Friday, they traveled to Great Park in Irvine to participate in the annual Woodbridge Invitational.
Martin Tudor is one of the most challenging courses the runners will face all season. It is notable for its hilly terrain, which pushes even the strongest runner to their limits.
Woodbridge, while a flatter course, presented the challenge of races packed with runners. The invitational, one of the largest in the U.S., drew over 15,000 runners from 500 schools across 23 states.
The Yellowjacket who had the biggest week was varsity speedster Sebastian Carlos. The junior placed third overall at the league meet with a time of 18:33.1, then set a personal record at Woodbridge with a time of 16:50.1, good for 17th place in a field of 313 runners.
Other runners of note for the girls included Varsity junior Regina Flores, who placed 9th at Martin Tudor with a time of 25:46.5, Allyson Mejia, who came in 11th with 25:57.0, and JV junior Kimberly Cabrera, who placed first in her race at Martin Tudor with 28:34.1.
At the Woodbridge Invitational many runners had anxiety about this race, especially considering several races took place after sundown, but results showed incredible improvement on the team all-around.
Twenty-two runners set their best times for the year, and 16 set personal bests. This included: Sebastian Carlos, Cesar Anaya Rivera, Yulior Zamora, Angel Cano, Matthew Valenzuela, Jeremiah Buena, Williams Salazar, Kamil Alberto, Abel Lopez, Nathan Durante, Eric Barron, Kimberly Cabrera, Alyssa Duke, Makayla Bazaldua, and Janet Munoz,
Makayla Bazaldua shared that “During the meet I was nervous, but I loved the atmosphere of everyone there and it was a lot of fun. And after the meet I was already missing all the different stuff they had to do and the cute little moments when exploring.”
Varsity senior Yulior Zamora said that, “It is not often you get the opportunity to compete alongside other schools in the dark. Woodbridge brought an amazing opportunity for us all as we ran throughout a different time we’re accustomed to. It was a great experience for the team and overall one that allowed us to improve our times for future meets.”
This Saturday, Colton will continue its Cross Country season at Cal State San Marcos for the annual Grit N’ Grind invitational. Then, next week they will travel back to Martin Tudor in Fontana for the second league meet of the season.