Bear Creek Park was the site of the Strake Jesuit XC Invitational on Saturday, and 35 Stratford Cross Country athletes took the brief bus ride over to compete. The short trip and the later start time of 8:00 am gave our athletes, coaches, and families the opportunity to remain in bed a bit longer than normal, but even more appreciated was the slightly cooler temperature, drier air, and overcast conditions that were present during the first couple of races.

Bear Creek Park is a great setting for a Cross Country race, and the course design allows spectators to watch the runners at multiple spots along the course. It was an exciting day of competition and there were lots of notable performances throughout the morning. Eight Stratford runners went home with individual medals and new PRs (personal records) were set across the board.

 

VARSITY BOYS

After finishing fourth in the team standings at Seven Lakes last week, our Varsity boys bounced back this week to take third at Strake. Two of the teams that finished ahead of us last week, Strake Jesuit and Seven Lakes, fell behind us this week, and #3 state-ranked The Woodlands and #5 ranked Katy Tompkins were the two teams ahead of us in points.

Ben Pearce was near the top again with his strong fourth-place result, Jona Morford was 10th, and Daylan Rushing was 19th. Andrew Hopkins and Owen Duggan were our other two point-earners on the day after finishing 32nd and 42nd, respectively. All nine of our Varsity boys ran extremely well and PRs were set by almost all.

Results - (5K distance - 90 finishers)

Ben Pearce - 4th - 15:36

Jona Morford - 10th - 16:00

Daylan Rushing - 19th - 16:13

Andrew Hopkins - 32nd - 16:43

Owen Duggan - 42nd - 17:08

Samuel Jordan - 47th - 17:19

Jake Rodriguez - 53rd - 17:47

Eli Roberts - 59th -18:14

Ethan Shuck - 66th - 18:27

 

VARSITY GIRLS

Varsity girls finished fifth in the team standings against very good competition. Niamh Collins cruised to sixth place overall and added another top-10 to her resumé this season. Amelia Bommer was just two spots outside of medal contention with her 27th-place result. Savannah and Olivia Ceraudo are freshmen, and Laura G. is a sophomore, so our young team continues to gain valuable racing experience each week.

Results - (5K distance - 45 finishers)

Niamh Collins - 6th - 19:17

Amelia Bommer - 27th - 21:29

Savannah Ceraudo - 31st - 21:50

Olivia Ceraudo - 36th - 22:28

Laura Gonzalez - 38th - 23:02

 

JUNIOR VARSITY BOYS

The Spartan JV boys battled to a fifth-place team result, and sophomore Nate Zoboroski led the team with his medal-earning 19th-place finish and another PR. Fellow sophomores Nathan Scott and Diego Ruiz finished top 30 while also setting 5K PRs.

Results - (5K distance - 90 finishers)

Nate Zoboroski - 19th - 18:44

Nathan Scott - 26th - 19:10

Diego Ruiz - 29th - 19:13

Kaleb Bernat - 44th - 20:05

Matthew Dial - 46th - 20:10

Liam Osbon - 49th - 20:26

Kyle Gray - 54th - 21:22

Marshall Sims - 79th - 24:16

 

JUNIOR VARSITY GIRLS

JV girls were short-handed this week with four finishers, and five are required for team scoring. All four girls had gutsy performances as the heat set in during their later start, and all finished strong. Freshman Laura Lozano continues to run well and finished top 30.

Results - (2 mile distance - 64 finishers)

Laura Lozano - 26th - 15:27

Angie Salel - 40th - 16:08

Sophie Hare - 42nd - 16:24

Amanda Gonzalez - 58th - 18:31

 

FRESHMAN BOYS

Freshman boys finished fourth in team points and had three runners earn top-20 medals. The team was led by Braddox Overstreet in 7th, newcomer Elliot Young in 16th, and Nolan Brock in 20th.

All of our sub-Varsity athletes, but particularly our Freshman boys, deserve credit for having to wait a long time to race each week and typically dealing with warmer conditions.

Results - (2 mile distance - 52 finishers)

Braddox Overstreet - 7th - 11:41

Elliot Young - 16th - 11:58

Nolan Brock - 20th - 12:15

Wesley Shuck - 27th - 12:27

Ashton Campbell - 34th - 13:00

Isaac Young - 35th - 13:03

Bobby Carter - 43rd - 13:56

William Ryan - 45th - 14:09

Cooper Avila - 51st - 17:34

NEXT WEEK IS OUR FIRST HOME MEET OF THE SEASON. PLEASE COME OUT EARLY TO NOTTINGHAM PARK ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER, 16th TO SUPPORT STRATFORD XC!