[frame style=”modern” image_path=”http://www.polyspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/xc.jpg” link_to_page=”http://www.polyspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/xc.jpg” target=”” description=”” size=”two_col_large”]Matthew Beasley (12), Spencer Peterson (12) and James Atwell (12) charge to the front of the pack at the Fastback Shootout at Mt. Sac Jr. College
RESURGENT: Poly Boys’ cross country won a league title for the first time in school history while the girls’ team placed a strong second. Both are moving on to CIF
by Chase Ballard, Staff Writer
Not only has the entire cross country team been successful this year, but the varsity boys team placed first in league for the first time in Poly history. The CIF meet will be held at Mt. Sac on Saturday, November 10, 2012.
On Wednesday, October 31, the Poly cross country team had its final league meet. The junior varsity teams swept their races, scoring first in both the guys’ and girls’ races. The varsity girls took second place in league while the boys’ varsity team finished as co-champions of the Inland Valley League with the Valley View Eagles, the first league title to adorn the boys’ varsity cross country name. Both teams will move on to CIF; this is the first time in six years the girls’ team has qualified.
When asked about the season, Kieran McVeigh (12) said, “Our cross country season has been one of the most intense seasons in history, and our times coming out of season are also some of the fastest the school has seen collectively. I am very proud of my team, and going into CIF next week, I want all of the varsity guys to know, win or lose, we did it as a team. Our varsity girls are also moving on to CIF with the guys for the first time in years. It’s a huge accomplishment.”
When the same question was asked of Coach Ibarra, he said, “I am very proud of the entire team. The goal was to have both teams qualify for CIF, and we were able to accomplish this.”
Even though all of the participating competitors had a great race, some people received extra recognition. Awards are given to the runners with the fastest times in the Inland Valley League, which are split into girls’ and boys’ varsity awards. Poly is proud to have seven people who received the All Inland Valley Team award—three boys and four girls. The top boys’ runners in this exclusive group of athletic individuals include Matthew Beasley (12), McVeigh and Preston Dodson (10), while the top girls’ runners were Megan Reed (10), Alexandra Stetkevich (9), Vika Exon (10) and Jasmine Flores (12).
With all of this astounding talent and great effort, Ibarra is confident in his teams’ abilities to do well in CIF. However, win or lose, he is still proud of the remarkable group of student athletes that have put tremendous effort into the challenging sport of cross country.
photo courtesy of Pam Ferre