Team competes on state meet course
The Piedmont High School girls cross country team won the Division 6 race at the Clovis Invitational on October 10, scoring 95 points, placing four runners in the top 25 and six in the top 35.
The 5,000 meter course is the same one used for the California Interscholastic Federation championships in November.
Amalia Gray led the Highlanders with a 15th place finish in 20 minutes, 24.2 seconds. Skylar Best was 19th in 20:31.8. Viviane Oesterer took 23rd in 20:40.6 with Leighton Mand in 25th in 20:43.5.
Kelsey Coleman was 34th in 21:07.1 to complete the scoring. Nikita Gorelik was right behind her in 35th in 21:07.9. Cora Brozowski Schrader finished 52nd in 21:47.3.
Coach Steve Zirkelbach said that Coleman told him before the race that she was nervous.
“(She) ran a superb race and was our 5th runner and final point-scorer – a great feat for a freshman runner on a new course with a lot of tough competition,” Zirkelbach said.
He added that Gray, Oesterer, Gorelik and Brozowski Schrader all ran personal-bests.
“During my race, I was really focusing on making sure I was continuously pushing myself, and using my teammates to do so, we made sure to pace one another, and when I felt strong enough to push through I passed them,” Gray said. “When I felt like I wasn’t feeling well or fatigued, I tried reminding myself to stay focused and present in the race.”
Piedmont’s boys team finished 10th in the Division 6 race with 277 points. Ontario Christian took the team title with 103 points.
Alex Schleuning led the Highlanders in 39th place with a time of 16:44.8. Noah Sohn was 52nd in 16:54.6 with Ian Chung in 66th in 17:05.9. Aaron Bennett took 73rd in 17:13.5 with Dresden Schulte-Sasse 76th in 17:18.8. Devon Thai finished 87th (17:30.8) and Dylan Wallway came home in 105th (17:51.2).
“I thought the race went well,” Bennett said. “It was a great experience racing at the state course and I was proud of how the whole team performed. I focused on getting out hard in the first mile and pacing off some of my teammates. In the second mile, I fell behind some of my teammates but I tried to maintain a solid pace and push up the hills and try to pass people on the downhill. When the third mile came around, I felt surprisingly good, which allowed me to pass about 15 people in the last mile and have a very strong kick.”