Walnut, CA — Valencia Vikings Cross Country Team tested their fitness at the famous Mt. SAC Invite in Walnut. Met with a late heatwave with hot and dry weather, the conditions upped the stakes on this challenging and hilly course. The three-mile course begins on the Airstrip where runners need to get out to a quick start before traversing a couple of laps on the “Valley Loop” for the first mile. The course then immediately ascends the Switchbacks for arguably the toughest hill on the course. A long descent behind the recently renovated Hilmer Lodge Stadium returns the racers to the crossover for a trip up Poopout Hill, a short, but steep ascent. By the start of the third mile, racers are on the lonely, back section before being challenged by the last and longest ascent, Reservoir Hill. The peak of Reservoir Hill signals 800m remaining consisting of a steep descent, a return trip on the grass next to the Airstrip, and a final push through the Gauntlet to the last uphill kicker immediately before the finish. The Varsity Lady Vikings ladies had only four girls able to toe the line as the late morning heat started to cook the course. With only one of our racers having previously raced the course this group was up for the challenges of the day. Emily Farrell had a great start sitting right behind the leaders through the mile. She finished first Lady Viking of the day fifteenth in the field at 20:59 and hungry for another crack at this race course, hopefully in a few weeks at CIF prelims. Zoe Baeza was the second viking across the line in 23:24; she ran a conservative yet steady pace dropping thirty seconds from her performance at COC showing her continued grit and improved aerobic capacity. Emma Buchanan also got off to a good start, putting herself in the mix with the leaders, she finished as the third Lady Viking to cross the line at 24:23. To round out the Varsity girls, Sam Armitage, our only experienced racer on the course, ran controlled and felt good over the hills to hold her pace till the finish at 25:46. Starting a few minutes after the Varsity Ladies, the Viking Varsity Boys were looking to mix it up with competitive racing as we approach the high stakes races in the week to come. Grant Young, was up for the challenge, pushing the pace in the first half and competitively racing with the front pack through the balance of the event. Grant finished in 16:17 in fourth overall. An impressive result for the senior! Emilio Oviedo continued his smart racing and upward trajectory finishing fifteenth in the race at 16:59. Frosh Cash Klinger looked smooth and relaxed on the Valley loop before the hills brought on the pain. He persevered, raced tough and finished at 17:35. Adam Sandoval went to the next level with his 17:49. This was nearly two minutes better than his result here last year! Alex Basin, also PRed on the course finishing in 18:11 as the final scoring VIking. Despite his tough racing, Alex was hoping for a bit more and will surely bring it to the league race next weekend. Sixth and seventh for the Vikings were Lincoln Gabbard at 19:05 and Jacob Kunz at 19:25. Just after high noon, the Freshman Viking boys had their chance to heat up the course. Kayden Ramos wasn’t drawn out by the fast start and continually moved up through the hilly portions of the race. He passed 30 runners in the last two miles to finish 10th place at 18:32. The amiable Adrian So was encouraging competitors through the course and finished in 18:57, a fine effort on his first trip over the challenging course. The Viking pack of Hudson Lee (19:31), Luke Rezkallah (19:32) and Josiah Lee (19:34) finished within three seconds of each other and secured the team title in their race! Miles Frizado slotted in at 19:50 with Brixus Lopez (20:38) showing his determination as he has been moving up the ranks each week. This group brought fire to the already hot day and will surely be at the pointy end of the stick next week looking for the team win. Without a course preview our freshman girls, who are all brand new runners, had a tall order to conquer the three daunting hills of the course. Gianna Bazar went out conservatively and turned it on in the second half of the race, eating the hills for breakfast! She was the first Viking placing in the top half of the race and finishing in 26:28. Second Frosh Viking lady of the race, Sofia Langer, took the hills in stride and finished strong at 28:32. Finding continual improvement is Ariana Reyes Mccarthy who finished third at 28:58 for the Frosh Vikes on this difficult course. Hayley Sykes, who is still suffering with shin splint injuries and hasn’t had the chance to run any hard workouts, made the best of it out there, running tough and was the fourth Frosh Viking in the race at 29:48. In the sophomore boys race, the Vikes weren't ready to wither in the afternoon heat. Nehemiah Pop was as cool as a popsicle on the starting line and confidently tamed the hills to lead this group in 19:04. Finally recovered from an injury, Luis Orrala persevered through the challenges in his first race of the season and finished in 19:51. Brian Lumaya had a quick start and suffered through the second half to finish in 22:33 while Connor Landress steadily moved through the race to finish in 22:53. Wrapping up the scorers were Michael Hatch in 24:38 and Luke Landress in 26:26. In one of the hottest races of the day our JV girls showed up on the line with their game faces. Sophomore Macy Redin got out well and ran a fast mile on Valley Loop. She was the first Viking across the line finishing in the top 3rd of the race finishing at 26:15. Junior Sophie Tran also got out well, running close to the same time as last year, but in much harsher conditions with her 27:47. Third Lady Viking Gracie Brooke, who had a challenging week leading up to the race, held steady in the mid pack of runners and finished in 29:17. Emily Stimac, who also has been battling illness, didn’t give up when it got tough and was the fourth finisher for the Vikings at 33:12. Final race of the day for the Vikes was the JV boys. Noah Flores was mixing it up with the front pack and raced smartly to take eighth in the race at 18:28. Damien Turner loves the challenging courses and brought his best on this day to finish in 19:12 which was 1:17 better than his PR on the course. Frosh Phoenix Bailey returned to racing after persevering through an early season injury for a 21:30. With Senior Justin Yuh and Frosh Garrett Bruemmer fishing out the scorecard for the Vikings at 21:31 and 22:12, respectively. The tough conditions on top of a challenging course had the VIkings showing their grit and perseverance while racing tough through the day. Next week the Vikings will be racing locally at Central Park for the Foothill League Finals. A welcome forecast for cooler conditions and a flatter course will have the Vikings hunting for late season PRs to finish out the regular season.