Thursday, October 13 carried mixed results for Santiago’s Cross Country team as they competed in their second Big 8 League Meet of the season. Held at the Silverlakes Sports Complex in Norco, the meet bore some similarities in the way of course composition to the 2016 Woodbridge Cross Country Classic, which was held at the other end of the complex earlier this year. Runners welcomed the familiar turf (well, this time it was real grass- somewhat nastier to deal with than AstroTurf) and favorable weather, both of which garnered some promising results.

The Girls JV team maintained their positions at the head of the pack, taking first overall as per usual. Sophomore Alyssa Struve (10) took first individually; Jessie Hernandez (10) and Samantha Rodriguez (11) came in third and fifth, which places all three girls ahead of Roosevelt’s top JV runners.

The Boys JV gang, led by Camden Sandberg (11), took third overall in their race. While this was a major step up for this particular team in terms of usual ranking, there remains plenty of room for improvement before the final battle.

Cayla Etheridge (10) took third individually in the Varsity Girls race, leading her team into third overall behind Martin Luther King and Roosevelt. If our girls repeat their performance at League Finals, there may yet be a shot at CIF qualifications, as only the top three varsity teams will allowed to progress into the championships.

The Varsity Boys’ chances are somewhat slimmer, though not entirely out of question. Kyle Pendleton (11), one of Santiago’s top runners, took fifth individually. The team took fifth overall, leaving Norco in the dust. This was certainly not their best performance, but two weeks of training have yet to be completed before League Finals.

League Finals will take place on Tuesday, November 1 at Andulka Park, the site of the team’s first League Meet. Let’s hope we get to see some teal jerseys leading the way at CIF this year. Go Sharks!