Local runners set personal bests at Woodbridge Cross Country Classic
Mira Costa senior Xavier Court ran a personal-best time on a 3-mile course to finish second in the Boy’s Rated race at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic. Photo by Damian Court
Mira Costa’s boys and girls cross country teams continue to improve as they prepare to make runs at the Bay League, CIF and State titles.
Last weekend the Mustangs competed against some of the top ranked teams from across the country at the Woodbridge Cross Country Fall Classic at the Silverlakes Sports Complex in Corona that featured approximately 300 schools and 13,000 athletes.
Mira Costa senior Xavier Court led the Mustang boy’s team to a 7th-place finish in the Rated Division and a school record at the 37th annual event. Court finished second with a personal-best time of 14 minutes, 26 seconds and junior Cy Chittenden also had a personal record of 15:04 to finish 21st.
“I was really stoked to set such a massive personal record and to see our team improve exponentially,” Court said. “We have an upcoming competitive meet in Arizona called the Desert Twilight Meet that we are all excited about, as it also is the course for the NXN Pre-Southwest meet.”
Mira Costa’s boys assistant coach Jeff Atkinson was pleased with his team’s performance.
“It was the first opportunity to compete in a race the size and scope of what we have to face at the state finals,” Atkinson said. “Without any specific preparation, we fared very well, which means our base work is going according to plan. The fact that nearly every kid ran a personal best also foreshadows good things to come. Xavier Court’s top 10 finish gives him a seat at the elite table.”
In the elite Bob Day’s Girls Sweepstakes competition, Mira Costa placed 11th behind the running of Brooke Inouye (38th, 17:09) and Olivia Hacohen (42nd, 17:15), both who set personal records.
The Mustangs’ performance moved the team up to No. 5 in the CIF-SS Division 1 rankings
Competing in the Gold Varsity B races, Redondo girls and boys teams placed first and third, respectively.
Brooke Inouye, left, has helped Mira Costa’s girls cross country team move up to the No. 5 spot in CIF-Southern Section Division 1. Photo by Damian Court
Benjamin Tait won the boys race with a personal-best of 14:60 and was aided in Redondo’s scoring by teammates Anthony Bass (17th, 15:27) and Alberto Aguilar (29th, 15:38), who also set personal records.
In the girls race, Lila Copeland set a personal record with a 2nd-place finish at 17:29. Also posting personal bests were Molly Ann Hastings (6th, 17:53), Peyton Heiden (13th, 18:13), Shelby Bender (19th, 18:23) and Teja Skalko (23rd, 18:32) Isabella Landry (22nd, 18:27) also turned in a strong performance.
The Sea Hawks girls team is ranked No. 8 in CIF-SS Division 1.
Mira Costa and Redondo are slated to run in the South Bay Cup on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at Columbia Park in Torrance.
Select runners from Mira Costa will then compete in the Arizona Desert Twilight race in Casa Grande, Ariz. on Friday
Redondo’s varsity team will travel to Oregon to run in the Nike Portland XC Invitational on Saturday. Sept. 30.