Preston Thue
Staff Writer
Mira Costa’s top seven junior varsity cross country runners came in third in a meet against Varsity runners from eleven other schools on Sept. 30.
In place of varsity cross country boys, and girls, seven junior varsity runners from each team got the opportunity to run in the South Bay Cup at Columbia Park. Eleven schools were present at the meet, including West Torrance, Gardena High, San Pedro, Torrance High, South Torrance, Mira Costa, Culver City, Hawthorne High, Chadwick High, Bishop Montgomery, and Vistamar, and the girls placed third overall, and the boys placed third overall as well.
“We performed very well today and were able to come out strong against West Torrance, which is a top state ranked team,” junior Andrew Costley said.
According to sophomore Dylan Hankamer, the first part of the race went as the boys planned when Costa’s runners went fast in order to prevent getting caught in the back on the narrow course. They gradually eased into a slower pace at the start of the half mile.
“I felt the race was going well, but we were at the point in the race where we needed to start pushing harder in order to pass other runners,” Hankamer said.
As a team, boys cross country picked up the pace halfway through the race and started passing other runners. Unfortunately, one of Costa’s strongest runners, junior Kevin Mauge, dropped out in the second half of the race due to a hamstring injury. Costa’s top five boys runners finished within eight places of each other. They were Hankamer, Michael Elias, Costley, John Wood, and Alan Faber.
“We packed well and sprinted to the finish,” Hankamer said. “We ended up placing third overall, but considering this wasn’t our traditional varsity roster, I have no complaints.”
During the girls’ race, Costa started off at an even pace, allowing the other schools to pass them. This allowed Costa to pass runners from other schools toward the end of the race because they had conserved their energy.
“I thought the first half of the race went really well,” sophomore Kate Lovekin said. “We started out at a strong pace, and we all worked together by staying in packs, which allowed us to push each other to be successful.”
According to freshman Brooke Inouye, the temperature rose in the second half, causing runners to push harder. Fortunately, the Costa girls were able to put forth the energy they had saved and push ahead of the other schools.
“I think our team did an amazing job. We have been training really hard and it’s starting to pay off,” Inouye said. “In the second half of the race, we really pushed ourselves and worked our hardest. I love how our team worked together by staying in groups during the race because we all motivated each other to keep going and run faster.”
The boys’ Bay League record is 1-0 and the girls’ Bay League record is 0-1. The next meet will take place on Oct. 15. at Polliwog Park. The time is to be determined.
“We’re training really hard, and we hope to do even better in the next meet,” Girls Cross Country Coach Renee Williams-Smith said.”We’re looking for an even stronger finish.”
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