XC League Finals

By: Sean Chavez '24

On Thursday, November 2, your SOCES Knights cross-country team had their league finals race at Pierce College where they raced against all the valley teams. Both Girls’ and Boys’ varsity teams came in second against East Valley. For the Junior Varsity teams, this was their last race for the season. Medals were given to the top 10 individuals for both the girls' and boys’ varsity teams. For girls’ varsity, the following runners made it to the top ten: Destiny Lee in 9th place with a time of 24:38, Elizabeth Castillo in 8th with a time of 24:01, and Jasmyn Talactac in 7th with a time of 23:50. For the boys’ varsity team, the following runners made it in the top 10: David Boussi in 8th place with a time of 18:26, Sean Chavez in 5th with a time of 17:54, and Nathan Medina in 4th place with a time of 17:46.

It was also the cross-country team's senior night. They had a small ceremony where they celebrated their seniors: Oscar Orellana, Jericho Milrad, Nathan Medina, Jezebel Sanchez-Lopez, Samantha Ochoa, and Sean Chavez. Aside from the seniors that made the top ten, the times for the rest of the seniors were 19:24 for Oscar Orellana, 25:38 for Jezebel Sanchez-Lopez, 30:32 for Samantha Ochoa, and 23:18 for Jericho Milrad. Each senior was given their own personalized posters that were made by the rest of the team and managers.

David Boussi, who came in 8th for the boys varsity team, had this to say about his place in league finals: “It felt great. In this season I started off a bit slow in my personal opinion and I think the league helped me build my confidence back this season. I wasn’t expecting to get top 10 or even top 8 so I was very surprised when they called my name for a medal but it was a great experience and I love running with my team.”

Both Elizabeth Castillo and Destiny Lee, who placed in the top ten for the girl's varsity team remarked that they had fun with Elizabeth adding, “I think running the Pierce course is really challenging but the outcome in how we perform at the end really helps me power through the pain, the hills, and the three miles. With the team and our managers being on the hills they were able to help me and encourage me.”

As for what some seniors thought about their senior night, Nathan Medina said, “It was nice to hit a fast time and get to celebrate it afterward with everyone.” Samantha Ochoa said, “Honestly I felt really good because it was my first year ever at cross and at the very end I felt very accomplished and very honored that I was able to be a part of it and that I had my coach, the managers, and my teammates supporting me.” While the Knights cross-country teams may have unfortunately gotten second in league finals, they ran their best and will continue to do so at City Finals.