11 October 2013 PERSISTENCE: Varsity runners of the Poly cross country teams face tough competition at the Stanford Invitational and the first League meet.
By Jorge Carreon, Staff Writer
On September 28, Poly High School’s cross country athletes raced at the prestigious Stanford Invitational. Since this meet was a varsity only meet, only the top runners from the boy’s and girls’ teams were eligible to go. The varsity teams raced impressively. Their efforts placed the girls’ team in 13th place out of 40 teams and the boys’ team in 21st place out of 41 teams. The top runners from Riverside Poly were Deion Molina (10), who placed 31st in the race, and Julia Valdez (9), who placed 30th in the race. “We felt very honored and a little bit nervous going in as a young team, but we got there and we just knew what we had to do.We got the job done and we’re just glad that we got the chance to be there and see all these other teams that are just as great –and even better– than us.” Ruben Avila (12) said.
As time progresses, the team is transforming into a formidable opponent for the rest of the league. On September 25, Poly’s runners proved themselves to be tough competitors at their first league meet at Andulka Park by securing 4th place out of all the teams in the league. Though there’s room for improvement, Poly’s cross country teams are creating a reputable image for themselves.