Cross Country Sunset League Finals 2019

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Claire Qiu, Journalist

Saturday November 2nd marked the end of the cross country league season as Corona del Mar’s boys’ and girls’ cross country teams competed in the Sunset League Finals held in Huntington Beach.

The first race started at 8 a.m., and the weather was unpredictable. The frosh/soph girls were in for a treat as a hailstorm started during their race, and eager race watchers ran for cover under the bright team tents. The varsity races kicked off at 9 a.m., with girls’ varsity racing first and the boys racing second. The tension at the start line was palpable as each team prepared for a race with high stakes. Not only would teams be ranked after the race, the rankings would determine which teams would move onto CIF.

CdM’s girls’ team ran a strong race, with four of their top five runners coming under the 20-minute mark. Leading the team was senior Maya Buchwald, who set a personal record of 18:44 for the 3-mile course. Senior Aleks Crampton came in at 19:16, sophomore Claire Qiu at 19:43, sophomore Sara Miller at 19:49, and junior Sydney Sharp at 20:08. Senior Julia Tung and junior Annabelle Boudreau, running their first races since coming back from injury, ran times of 20:32 and 20:39 respectively. The race was tough, and “went out really fast in the beginning. It was kind of stressful,” remembers Buchwald. “I’m very surprised I didn’t trip.” CdM was fourth overall in the league, and qualified for CIF through the rankings.

The CdM boys’ cross country team also came in fourth. Senior Nico Pence came in at 15:46, followed by sophomore Vlad Marinescu at 16:20, junior Jack Newton at 16:21, junior Ethan Bollman at 16:57, and junior Brian Shard at 17:19. Rounding out the team finish was sophomore Colin Choe at 17:38 and senior Austin Leehealey at 17:46. The boys unfortunately did not qualify for CIF as a team, but Pence qualified individually with an individual rank of 2nd place in the league.

It was a satisfying end to a tough season, and the girls’ team looks forward to competing in CIF. “We still have work to do,” says head Coach Bill Sumner.