Cross cross country ran the Mt. Carmel Invitational Saturday September 20th in San Diego, California.
“This was a really big invite in California, it was a hard course, and many people were running it,” states varsity runner Cade Burks.
When asked about his goals for this race, Burks mentions: “I just want to go out there and be able to race with the leaders, the kids in California are considerably better than [the runners] here in Arizona.”
The race is held at Balboa Park in San Diego, California. The course is very hard and has a couple of tough hills that the runners must conquer.
Puma cross country takes this trip annually every year. “It’s not just about the race, we also bond as a team and really get to know eachother, I look forward to this trip every year,” comments senior varsity runner, Nina Suan.
Suan also mentions how she prefers racing in San Diego because of the cooler weather.
Other than racing the team gets to stroll around the city of San Diego, hang out on the beach, and visit tourist attractions.
Senior varsity runner, Gabby Ybarra, mentions that: “California is known to have some of the best runners in the nation, so to watch my team go out there, compete, and win makes me very proud.”
Puma cross country traveled to win, Burks won the Division 1 Junior class race at the Mt. Carmel Invitational with the time of 15:47 on the 2.95 mile course. Other male top finishers at Mt. Carmel include: sophomores Ethan Burton, Kain Hudson, and freshman Anthony Haren. The sophomore boys placed 5th overall and the freshman boys placed 8th overall.
Female top finishers include senior Gabby Ybarra and freshman Paige Ellsworth. With this only being the second race of the season, Puma nation left their mark in San Diego and plans to continue to exceed expectations all the way to state.
Puma Cross Country will be racing next at the Doug Conley Invitational Saturday September 27th.