Aragon Cross Country runners are hitting the streets of San Mateo again as they prepare for their upcoming season. Their first event of the year was a scrimmage against Mount Pleasant High School on August 28.
Seniors Wyatt Cooper and Sam Sokolsky came in first and second respectively in the boys’ race, and senior Katherine Chinn and freshman Zoe Barrie finished first and second respectively in the girls’ race. Only eight cross country members from Mount Pleasant showed up to the scrimmage, since many had not been cleared for athletics. This made it a very stress-free afternoon.
However, the course itself was in no way easy. Senior Garrett Tan commented, “It was incredibly hot and I think we all might have gotten a slower time than we wanted.” The course was 2.95 miles, which is longer than most, and there were many hills. Freshman Jason Lim says, “There was no shade at all!”
It was the team’s first cross country meet of the season, but also many team members’ first meet ever. Sophomore Katie Wysong ran long distance during track season last year, which inspired her to do cross country this year. She says, “Cross country is a completely different mindset—you don’t know where you are relative to the finish line, and it’s more about pacing than just speed.” Lim adds, “I didn’t do cross country in middle school, so this was a completely new and incredibly exhausting experience.”
Despite the heat and lack of shade, Assistant Coach Frank Hunt believed that the scrimmage went well. “It was a good way for the cross country members to see where they are condition-wise, especially some of the vets who may or may not have done a lot of running this summer.” During this past summer, team members could meet at Aragon to try to keep in shape. Turnout varied from as few as seven people to as many as 20.
The cross country team’s most recent event was the first Pacific Athletic League (PAL) meet on September 11 at Half Moon Bay High School. PAL meets determine whether or not the Aragon cross country team will head to the Central Coast Section (CCS) finals. At PAL meets the Aragon cross country team competes against 16 other schools. In order to qualify for CCS, Aragon must be in the top one half out of 17 total schools. Only the varsity boys’ and girls’ teams compete in CCS.
The general consensus of the team is that Aragon will make it to CCS this year. Sophomore Celene Bolanos commented, “Aragon has always had a strong cross country team, so I believe that we will do really well in CCS.” Hunt agrees, adding, “In our CCS division, Division 2, our girls’ varsity team ranked number four out of the twenty-four teams from the times last year, so the likelihood of us going far this year is pretty substantial.” The varsity teams are not determined yet, as the coaches generally wait until a month or so to decide who should be on each seven-person cross country team.
The Lowell Invitational will be held on Saturday, September 15 at 9 a.m. at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.
