Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA — For specific information, please visit team pages: https://teampages.com/teams/1063519-Los-Osos-Cross-Country-cross-country-running-team-website/announcements?page=1 Coach's recap: It had been three years since the team has been able to travel to Northern California, but 2022 opened the door again for travel trips. For the 15th time, the Grizzlies took their incentive trip, this time to the Monterey area. The top 7 performers at Red Hill had the opportunity to make the trip, and for those that did attend, they made a lot of memories, which is really the top goal of the trip. These adventures bring the team closer together with an experience most high school athletes don’t get the chance to do. Leaving school on Thursday at lunch, the team looked forward to escaping the heat and enjoying the cool climate along the coast. Taking a bathroom break in Buellton, the trip was in jeopardy as one of the vans would not start. Making calls, inquiring about rental cars, trying to figure out a solution, someone from district transportation was able to diagnose the problem and provide a solution. The gear shifter on the steering column was not functional and the van would have to be put into gear manually…from under the van. Coach Skiles, or Mr. Mechanic, eventually found the right spot, and we quickly developed a system which was a hassle, but once in gear, the van ran fine. Dinner in San Luis Obispo on Farmers Market night is always a treat, and on we continued to our hotel in Marina. Friday was a relaxing day…slow morning, a short workout, lunch, shopping, and into the Cannery and Fisherman’s Wharf area of Monterey to explore. Shopping at Walmart before returning to the hotel. It was a foggy, cool morning as we arrived at the new Palo Corona Regional Park, in part created as a dedicated cross country course by the Big Sur Marathon Foundation. It was a beautiful course of rolling hills and spectacular scenery, complete with teams that we don’t ever bump into at other meets. We used to attend the Pacific Grove Invitational when it was held at the high school, but this was a much better setting, and a much better race schedule that allowed us to compete in the first two races in the morning so that we could arrive home at a reasonable hour. Noah Chairez led the boys to a 5th place finish as he covered the 5K course in 16:51 to take 2nd place. Both boys and girls were missing a key scorer which probably cost them a spot in the standings, but everyone raced well. Fernando Hernandez finished 21st, while the other 5 boys were all within 26 seconds of each other. Evelyn Simon edged Haley Jenson as they both notched top 20 finishes to lead the girls to a matching 5th place finish. It was a successful race and a successful trip. Following the races, a “new” van had been delivered, and we made our way back home. The second Baseline League meet scheduled this week was cancelled, so we are back in action at Guasti Park on Saturday in the Inland Empire Challenge. Complete Results: Boys (5th of 16 teams; 139 total runners): 2. Noah Chairez – 16:51; 21. Fernando Hernandez – 18:00; 45. Dominic Skiles – 18:50; 51. Jacob Winter – 19:01; 55. JJ Johnson – 19:07; 56. Matthew Ruiz – 19:07; 62. Adrian Marquez – 19:16 Girls (5th of 13 teams; 126 total runners): 18. Evelyn Simon – 21:25; 20. Haley Jenson – 21:28; 27. Jenna Summers – 21:53; 37. Hannah Hassan – 22:28; 65. Sydney Oravets – 24:01; 81. Emmery Mitchell – 24:51