Makena Nakaji
Staff Writer
Mira Costa’s best cross country runners sat out at their third meet at Silverlakes Sports Norco. Girls placed 8th in the team meet with 97:53, while the boys placed 2nd with 89:06.
The top runners for this meet, were Michael Elias and Jessie Gregson-Williams. Elias placed 5th in the junior boys meet, with 17:07. Gregson-Williams raced 19:24, and placed 36th. For this meet, the top 20 runners were rested, because of the next meet in Portland.
“I feel the meet was pretty good,” said Roberto Calderon,” we had to have a week of recovery, so our top runners will be ready to race next time.”
The coaches for both the boys and girls varsity teams, decided to sit their top 15 runners. It was a strategy in order to save their best runners for one of their more crucial meets.
Link: Click to see Mira costa’s cross country team’s website
“I feel that the team did relatively well, again for this meet we were resting our top runners,” said Calderon,” and we focused more on doing hills, and our tempo, so we’re running at a progressive run, so we were able to recover.”
While running against more experienced, and stronger competitors, the cross country team fell short in the end.
“The advantage we had, was running on a flat course,” said Calderon,” It is the third biggest race in the nation, so many kids felt a little overwhelmed. Especially competing with some of the top schools in the nation.”
Coach Roberto Calderon said the team needs to work on rest, because of how hard they work at practices.
“The team is committed, the guys and girls are committed to the weekend runs,” said Calderon,” the team is working really hard, and in return, we will be reducing our mileage in order to be ready for our future meets.”
During this race, younger runners got to experience what it is like to compete at a higher level. The team is working towards perfecting their tempo, pace, and the way they start.
“We’re in the right direction, we are making the right steps, this is just a recovery week,” said Calderon, Last week we spent a significant amount of time working on the intensity and volume.”
The Mustangs’ next meet is the Nike Pre-Nationals, taking place in Portland Meadows, on September 24.
“To prepare for the next meet, we will be slightly reduce our mileage,” said Calderon,” To accommodate for flying to Portland, we will be focusing on resting, so we can be ready for our meet.”
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