On October 4th, 2022, the Cross Country team gathered in El Dorado to have fun and finish off their season.

I decided to interview 3 people on the cross-country team Their names are Jackson Woodworth, Caroline Curtis, and Olivia Sandoval. Here is what they said.

Q: What was your feeling when you got to the course?

Jackson said: I was feeling that this would be really easy and I would place.

Caroline said: I was excited and nervous because I knew it a bit, but last year it scratched my leg a bit.

Olivia said: I was kinda nervous

Q: What were you feeling when you were getting ready to start your stretches?

Jackson said: “I was feeling confident but nervous at the same time.”

Caroline said: “There were more people there than normal, so I was nervous”

Olivia said: “Even though we have done it multiple times before, I was nervous”

Q: What were you thinking when the gun was about to fire? 

Jackson said: I was thinking 2 things, I was thinking that the gun was louder than the others and that I was in the top 20 and I might win this.

Caroline said: I was kinda like sinking in information he said before, and I was starting to get excited because I wanted to be in the top 20.

Olivia said: My stomach was jumping.

When you’re at the Cross Country meets you can hear a bunch of people cheering for the kids that are running their race. The race order would go 7th-grade girls, 7th-grade boys, 8th-grade girls, and then 8th-grade boys. The team would normally hang out at their tent or cheer on their fellow teammates doing their race. A lot of times they are really loud when they are cheering. You always get so much support whether you’re in 1st or last, it’s a very supportive sport.

During the final race the results are…
7th Grade Girls Results:
Isabelle Granado in 8th place in 6:37 minutes.
Cambrie Granado in 12th place in 6:55 minutes.
Ivanna Camila in 18th place for the s in 7:31 minutes.
Caroline Curtis in 21st place in 7:40 minutes.
Sophia Hill in 27th place in 7:53 minutes.
Olivia Sandoval in 31st place in 8:09 minutes.
Jaycie Joplin in 34th place in 8:35 minutes.

7th Grade Boys Results:
Xaden Delgato in 4th place in 6:04 minutes.
Ansen Balkenhol in 8th place in 6:13 minutes.
Reed Miller in 25th place in 7:00 minutes.
Archer Wilson in 36th place in 7:45 minutes.
Jackson Woodworth in 49th place in 9:16 minutes.

8th Grade Girls Results:
Madison Evans in 1st place in 13:33 minutes.
Emma Beatty in 3rd place in 14:27 minutes.
Amelia Lowery in 5th place in 14:46 minutes.
Kaylee Wellman in 21st place in 16:23 minutes
Evelin Perez Antonio in 23rd place in 17:17 minutes.
Chelsea Mendez in 26th place in 18:05 minutes.
Julianna Rodriguez in 33rd place in 21:52 minutes.

8th Grade Boys Results:
Braxton Pugh in 1st place in 12:13 minutes.
Edgar Gomez in 5th place in 12:50 minutes.
Tegan Mitchell in 7th place in 12:58 minutes.
Sebastian Dix in 10th place in 13:01 minutes.
Brayden Shaw in 18th place 13:54 minutes.
Bryce Heinen in 20th place in 14:10 minutes.
Thiago Esquivel in 34th place in 15:44 minutes.

Brock Malone in 43rd place in 16:58 minutes.
Conor McBride in 47th place in 17:24 minutes.
Breandan Good in 51st place in 19:44 minutes.

I would like to congratulate Isabelle Granado, Xaden Delgato, and Ansen Balkenhol for getting in the top 10 of the 7th-grade races. And Madison Evans and Braxton Pugh for getting first place in the 8th-grade races. Everyone did a great job even if they didn’t make the top 10 or 20.

I really enjoyed the cross-country races. It is filled with a bunch of positivity and you never know if you will meet some new friends. If you are planning on joining cross country, you should drink a lot of water during the day to get yourself hydrated for practice and races. I know I will for sure be signing up for cross country next year.