X-Country's eventful season comes to a close

After a strong season filled with countless hills, 5 a.m. wake-up calls for meets, and an exciting trip to Minnesota, cross country season is coming to an end. The gateway to CIF Ocean League Final occurred on Oct 30 and nerves were high as athletes prepared for the crucial meet ahead. The athletes were confident of their abilities to place highly against their Ocean League counterparts. With varsity girls’ captain and leading runner Tupelo Sullivan (’20)  back from a long-lasting stress-fracture, the girls were glad to have their captain back to race with them. This meet was imperative to the team because it would secure them a spot as a top-three team for CIF. In the end, the team secured second place overall with a winning performance from boys varsity and a second place finish from the girls team. After this win, they progressed onto CIF preliminaries where they would compete against the top schools in the state. In the midst of stiff competition and a number of injuries among the varsity runners, Samo’s CIF stint ended in the first round. Though this was a disappointment for the team, Head Coach Tania Fischer has been able to reflect positively on the team’s growth throughout the season. “Running in a pack has been something we have worked on all season and has become our greatest strength as a team,” Fischer said. Varsity runner Ava Wasson (’20) also looks back on the season fondly, despite its early termination. “Ideally we wanted to go to CIF finals, and unfortunately that didn’t come together, but we all worked hard and have a lot of talented underclassmen who have the potential to make it happen in the future,” Wasson said. While the varsity teams as a whole did not qualify for CIF Semifinals, the season is not over for everyone. Tristan Amell (’21) placed 6th individually with a time of 15:27, qualifying him to move on to the CIF Finals that took place on Nov. 23. Amell felt confident about his race and moving forward. “CIF Prelims was very simple for me: the only goal was the get top 10. I placed 6th and was able to maintain a comfortable pace doing so, which gives me the confidence for CIF Finals. I will have to put out much harder effort at finals, but it is a realistic goal for me to qualify for states,” Amell said. After much anticipation, Amell ran on Saturday, Nov. 23 with a time of 15.34 minutes and got 39th place. The skilled athletes that make up the Samo’s Cross Country team have devoted so many hours towards training for faster times. From meets at all hours of the day to their religious commitment to maintaining their fitness, the athletes have continuously demonstrated their perseverance throughout the season.