On Saturday, Oct. 7, Carlmont’s junior varsity cross country team ran solo at the 2017 Crystal Springs Invitational competition.
With the absence of the varsity team, whose members were attending the 2017 ASICS Clovis XC Invitational competition in Clovis, California, it was up to the JV team to represent Carlmont at the Crystal Springs Invitational.
Teams arrived at the course at 8 a.m. to warm up and stretch, and races began promptly at 9 a.m. A variety schools from as far as San Francisco and Oakland — such Oakland Technical High School and Lowell High School — were present for the competition.
So far in the season, the JV team’s rankings have been pretty average in overall team performance. Coming out of the Westmoor Ram Invitational competition, the girls’ JV team ranked fourth out of seven in overall team rankings. Respectively, the boys’ JV team ranked seventh out of 16.
Undeterred by the Varsity team’s absence, the JV team had good morale and were determined to have strong races throughout the day.
“This meet is more important to me since it’s so close to home and school,” said Tanner Anderson, a senior. “We should do fairly well, considering we have the home-turf advantage here.”
The race itself, held at the Crystal Springs Cross Country Trail, consisted of a 2.94 mile run of constant uphills and downhills for runners to navigate.
Boys’ Varsity was the first group to traverse the course. Girls’ Varsity followed soon after, and then the JV, freshman, and sophomore teams ran their races. For Carlmont, the JV team was distributed across the Varsity and JV team categories.
Assistant Coach Al Schmidt felt confident about the team’s ability to perform during their races, recounting that they had an overall strong work ethic going into the competition.
“The hardest part about any race is not being prepared for it,” said Schmidt. “You’ve got to be prepared. [This team] trains the hills and does everything that they need to do.”
Runners’ spirits were high going into the competition, but they soared to new levels once the race had been completed. Each and every athlete left the course with a tired yet jubilant smile.
“After I run, I get this really good feeling which is what people call a ‘runner’s high.’ When everyone finishes, they’re just really happy, and there’s a lot of team bonding,” said Angela Ramirez, a junior.
In overall team scores for the competition, Carlmont placed eighth for the Girls’ Varsity category and 13th under Boys’ Varsity. The team’s next competition will be at Half-Moon Bay and the first of several Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) competitions to end the season.
Videos of the 2017 Crystal Springs Invitational can be viewed on YouTube.
