In order to reach the finish line in cross country, the tactic is often assumed to be fairly simple: one leg moves in front of the other, arms move back and forth mechanically in a 90-degree angle as breathing becomes increasingly difficult. This reduced description fails to represent the true grit required to conquer every hill, avoid the holes dug up by gophers in unexpected corners of the course, and the immense amount of willpower required to muster a sprint one-hundred meters before the line. Like every season, the Girls Cross Country Varsity Team is chasing the ticket to state —if it’s punched, the team will be on their way to Clovis, California in November.

As of now, Corona del Mar Cross Country has participated in three races: the Laguna Hills Invitational, Sunny Hills/Wayne Walker Invitational, and Central Park Invitational. Senior girls placed first as a team at Laguna Hills; a notable mention goes out to Bea Douglass, who tackled the extremely hilly course in 20:30.5. Douglass commented on the race as being “tough and indefinite. Just when you think the hills are over, another hill takes you out completely. Before you know it, there isn’t any time to take a breath before you ascend another hill back-to-back” —that’s Laguna Hills, a test of mental strength right down to a hill placed in the last two hundred meters of the course.

Although it is a much flatter course, the Sunny Hills/Wayne Walker Invitational challenges runners with less steep, but constantly rolling hills. Right behind Buena Park High School, the CdM senior girls placed second as a team, seeing as they shaved off a significant amount of time off of their individual times from Laguna Hills. Ellie Rosing led the girls during this competition, clocking 19.46.20 while earning a second-place finish in the race. Sunny Hills remained cool throughout the morning for the upperclassmen races before an unforgiving heat wave was felt at only ten o’clock in the morning.

For most, Central Park Invitational is a favorite —the course is completely flat except for one steep hill in the middle of the race and the specific date it’s held on tends to luck out on a crisp Saturday morning. Senior Alex Law smiled jittery during the team warm-up as she exclaimed “I’m so full of energy for once. I love Central Park!” Law was able to prove this in her best performance of the season so far, clocking a time of 21:07.0. Seeing as the season has just begun, there is no doubt that the team will continue conquering each competition with full intention as they’ve been doing since the tenth of September.