On Friday, September 1st, the Torrance High Cross Country Team had a great start to the season running in the LMU South Bay Twilight Invite at Charles H. Wilson Park. The team put exceptional effort into the competition and after spending many tireless hours training. For many, this was the first time they have ever run a race, making the time they got their new personal record. For many other runners, previous personal records were broken. 

The team did really well, especially the girls and boys JV team, with both placing 1st. The girls were led by Sophia Millan with a 21:13.5 (3rd overall), Katherine Gibson 21:25.8 (5th overall), Rianna Abalos 21:41.9 (6th overall), Hailey Rivas 21:44.5 (7th overall), and Jaslyn Villacorta 22:01.8 (8th overall). The Torrance boys swept the JV race.  Ethan Wessels finished  first with a time of 16:07.1, James Rivera second at 16:07.7, and Jack Campbell third with a time of 16:38.7. Following the top three, came Angel Rodriguez (6th overall)with a time of 17:10.3 and Raphael Noa (8th overall) with a time of 17:23.7. All top 5 of the boys got a new personal record in the race. 

The Varsity Girls took second place overall. They had a bit of trouble at the start, but were able to catch back up and finish strong. Maya Okada (5th overall) finished with a time of 19:41.4, Sofia Wessels (6th overall) finished with a time of 19:53.1, and Riley Gibson (7th overall) finished with a time 19:53.4.

The Varsity Boys placed 3rd overall, with many new personal records set. With an average pace of 5:25 per mile, Gavin Borges (10th overall) finished with a time of 16:15.1 and Aidan Corcoran (11th overall) finished with a time of 16:15.4. Juan Avellana (18th overall) finished with a time of 16:24.7. All of the boys did extremely well in the race and started off their season strong. After seeing the amazing results from the race, Coach Pose (Cross Country head coach) was “really proud of how well everyone did.” 

The team has been working for months to get to this point. Its summer program began in June and the runners trained six days a week in the blazing heat, doing intense long runs and workouts. The returners from last season looked forward to the upcoming season while welcoming the new freshmen and a coach to the Cross Country Ohana. After one month of intense training, the team concluded their summer program and officially started the cross country season of 2023. At the end of the summer, twenty-four runners were chosen to train in Mammoth Lakes. These runners were chosen because the coaches believed they could handle the tough workouts and long runs up in the high altitude. 

The quality summer training helped the runners improve for the 2023 season. This season is looking good so far, as the injured are recovering and they have a solid team. The results of the Wilson race were phenomenal and the commitment the team put in the sport really showed in this competition. The team hopes to reach their goal by getting both their boys and girls group to CIF this season. With Wilson starting off their racing season, it is exciting to see what new heights they can reach. 

If you’re interested in the next meets for the XC team, these are the locations of the next three:

• 9/9 Rosemead High School – 6:00 PM
• 9/15 The Great Park Irvine – Time TBA
• 9/27 Torrance High School – 4:00 PM