Fresno, CA — The Valencia Viking Cross Country team sent their varsity squads up to the Clovis Invitational in Fresno this past weekend. The Vikings had quite the challenge with many of the top teams in the state making the trip to experience the state championship course. Waiting for them was a rolling, winding 5k over mixed terrain. The well-tended course was fast with short grass, watered dirt sections and a bit of asphalt mixed in. Rarely flat with gentle gradients for most of the hills, the team was hoping for fast times and looking to prep for competitive races as the end of the season is around the corner. With late morning start times and a forecast of 90+ for the day, the heat played a role for many of the competitors. During the course preview on Friday afternoon, our young varsity team looked serious as the veterans from last year shared helpful tips. On Saturday, they arrived poised, primed, and ready to race. In the extra-large school division, the lady Vikings were in one of the most competitive divisions of the day with 283 competitors. Freshman Emily Farrell went out strong, kept a steady pace and showed her strength on the rolling hills. She led the Lady Vikes, placing 83rd with a time of 21:06; she was the fifteenth fastest freshman in the race. Soph Liana Sushinsky, who’s notorious for her late race surge, finished 15 sec behind Emily. Liana was looking strong as she passed a large group of competitors in the last mile, running over a minute faster than last year. Freshman Gwendalyn Wiercioch, our dual sport athlete who is still very new to the cross country scene was looking stronger than ever. She wasn’t afraid to toe the line in this competitive field and take it out hard in the first mile. She finished in the top half of the field and was the third Viking for the day. After a strong performance at Bell Jeff last week, Micaella Fenelon once again brought that grit and strength, showing a great deal of maturity for a freshman. She was the fourth Viking to score with yet another consistent performance. Rounding out the top 5 was Mariaesperanza Lopez, she kept a steady pace and ran her own race to keep herself in the mix of the competition. She ran a 90 second PR on the course from last year! Valentina Soto Navarrete was visibly struggling with a side cramp for the first mile and dropped back to the back of the pack. However, once the cramp subsided, she went into beast mode, started picking up the pace and moved up in the race. Even with the slow start she ran 3 seconds faster than her time last year. In only her second Varsity race and fourth cross country race ever, Sophomore Zoe Baeza finished just behind Valentina to round out the Lady Vikings. Zoe continues to improve in each race and shows amazing potential! We are so excited for the future of this young group of girls. This competitive racing experience will give them the confidence they will need as the season ending competitions approach. Also in one of the largest and most competitive fields of the event, the Viking Boys were lined up against some of the state’s best runners and teams. Senior Grant Young knew he would need to get out fast to avoid the congestion of the field. His 4:55 first mile had him sitting at the back of the front pack and well positioned for the tough, hillier second mile. Grant stayed strong in the second half of the race to finish 34th at 16:37, over a minute better than last year on the same course. Next for the Vikes was frosh Cash Klinger. After a controlled start and holding his position in the field through the first two miles, he passed 17 runners in the last mile to finish at 17:34. After a strong first mile, the heat and dust got to Emilio Oviedo as he finished third on the day for the Vikings at 18:00, a slight improvement from his time here last year but not what he was hoping for. Alex Basin and Noah Flores finished within a second of each other at 18:21. Although both a bit nervous to take on the tough competition, they showed poise and perseverance while working as a team and moving well over the last mile. In his first varsity race, Adrian So dropped a PR in the mile at the first spit and ran tough to finish at 18:50. With a some more miles in his legs, he will be one to watch in the future. Birthday boy, Kaden Ramos, celebrated by also running varsity for the first time. After a measured start over the first mile, he moved well though the tough second mile and held on to finish just under 19:00 at 18:59. With three weeks left in the regular season, these two teams will be looking for late season gains and striving to make it to the post season races. Next week the Vikings will venture out to Alameda Park in Long Beach for the Bell Gardens Invitational.