The UCSD Cross Country team has had a busy season so far, with an exciting few weeks ahead. According to Coach David Gibson, the high school team is fairly small this year, "but they are still plugging away and getting better."
Gibson reported that the first race was back on August 25th when the Raiders travelled to run in the State Preview with four team members. Trevor Wilson was the fastest male with a time of 18:58 followed by Henry Simmonds with a time of 20:35. Hailey Wilson was the fastest female with a time of 26:24 followed by Kathryn Difuntorum with a time of 27:31.
The following week, the team traveled to the Seward Invite with six runners. Michael Pereat was the teams fastest, with a time of 19:00 followed by Blaine Henning (19:06), Trevor Wilson (19:13) and Henry Simmonds (21:46). Hailey Wilson was the fastest female with a time of 26:02 followed by Kathryn Difuntorum with a time of 28:28.
Last week, the Raiders traveled to the 3K ACS Class Challenge. Michael Pereat led the Raiders with a time of 10:53 followed by Blaine Henning (11:50), Trevor Wilson (11:35) and Henry Simmonds (12:02) The fastest female was Shanelle Palma with a time of 15:24 followed by Kathryn Difuntorum (15:28) and Hailey Wilson (15:37).
The Raiders then headed to the Palmer Invite, which is one of the biggest races in the state. The fastest Raider was Blaine Henning with a time of 18:26 followed by Trevor Wilson (18:47), Michael Pereat (19:22) and Henry Simmonds (20:15). The fastest female Raider was Hailey Wilson with a time of 24:59 followed by Kathryn Difuntorum with a time of 27:38. According to Gibson, Shanelle Palma had injured her ankle was not able to complete the race.
The Raiders have a busy day tomorrow. Starting at 3:30pm at Tutiakoff Field, the team will be hosting the "Raiders Run for Fun," a 5K race that is open to the public. According to Gibson, It has been well attended so far, and this is the final community practice of the season. Following the run, tThe Raiders will leave tomorrow for the Wasilla Invite on Saturday.
Next Friday the team will be hosting the regional qualifying race. The race will start and finish at Kelty field and begins at 6pm, and Gibson is hoping to draw a crowd.
"We are hoping to get lots of people there to support our runners and get as many athletes to qualify for State as possible," Gibson said. Both High School and Jr. High runners will be racing at this event, and community members are encouraged to either come and run or simply watch the race. Gibson also warns that this race will be partially on the road, so the team asks that people to look out for runners if they are out driving.
The last race of the year is the State competition, which will be on Saturday September 29th this year.
For more information on the Raiders Cross Country races and results, look them up on athletic.net.
