The 76th annual Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational took place on Saturday, where the school’s freshman, JV and varsity girls and boys teams competed. 

According to assistant varsity coach Colin Cornforth, a standout performance by Luca Travino (9) resulted in the freshman boys race first place title. Other top racers from the event consisted of Charlotte Sach (12), Evelyn Lawson (11) and Sophie Lesser (11), as they “continue to perform well as they have all season.” Kian Massoud (10) and Ryan Chelesnik (12) “both ran great races for varsity as well.” 

“I would say that we have a lot of runners that are doing really well,” Cornforth said. 

Going into the competition, returning runners aimed to improve their times, while for the younger runners it was “an experience that’s really different than any other course.” The intense rigor of the course even led some competitors to drop out, according to Sach, the varsity girls team captain. Despite the physical challenges of the course, runners came across mental challenges as well. 

“I think the biggest challenge for varsity in general was being in a large race where you’re not necessarily going to be in the top three of the race,” Cornforth said. “And so trying to stay mentally locked in even though you’re not going to podium as a team.”

While the large scale of the race made it more difficult to place, the team still found key takeaways from their annual event.

“I think even the girls that struggle learned something from it,” Cornforth said. “I think that’s the goal of life … to learn from things that are difficult. And so even if they didn’t run as well as they would have liked, they can take something from it and apply it next year.”

According to varsity boys team captain, Zach Dawson (12), who has been a part of the boys varsity cross country team since his sophomore year, coming into the season the team knew it would be difficult living up to the expectation of their of graduated runners. 

“We knew we had our work cut out for us,” Dawson said. “Going into this season, we were not returning with as strong a team as we have in the last couple years, so I think that was something that was on all of our minds. But the motivation has been there. The drive has been there.”

Sach agreed. 

“We had amazing seniors last year, and without them, there’ve been some difficult shoes to fill,” Sach said.

This year, runners dealt with the first major course change in 46 years. The change was in an effort to “provide a better spectator experience” and lengthened the race to three miles. The changes feature the new state-of-the-art Mt. SAC facilities and the elimination of the infamous Poop Out Hill. 

Dawson felt a bit disappointed about the course changes. 

“I’m kind of sad about the course change,” Dawson said. “That course has a lot of history.”

With Mt. SAC attracting runners from in and out of the state, the intensity of the race had Dawson feeling a sense of nostalgia. 

“It’s a bittersweet feeling for me,” Dawson said. “I’ve gone to this meet all four years in cross country. It’s kind of like the classic cross country meet, and just knowing that you’re not going to run it again, and you’re not going to get another opportunity to be there is kind of sad. But also, I’m happy for the experiences I’ve had there, and I feel like it’s encouraged me to be a better runner overall.”

In preparation for the race, athletes at the school ran in local areas with hills, mimicking a course similar to that of Mt. SAC. According to Dawson, the team found a balance in training by incorporating both speed and hill workouts. 

A significant amount of the team was unable to attend because of prior obligations, which led to the varsity girls team playing with a different varsity roster than they are typically used to. 

“I think it was an opportunity for some new runners to get out and see a different course,” Cornforth said. 

As the team continues to make adjustments following last season, there’s hope for a CIF title as the team dives into playoffs in the coming weeks. 

“Our team has the potential, we just need to tap into it,” Sach said.

Conforth agreed. 

“I think the ideal goal for both teams would be, boys finish top two and get a chance to go to state and girls would finish top three and have a chance to go to state as well,” Cornforth said. 

Looking back on last season, Dawson hopes to make it all the way to the state championship this year. 

“I think our North Star throughout the season has been a top two finish at CIF to get a state meet spot,” Dawson said. “That’s been kind of the ultimate goal, I think, for all of us, and at least from my perspective, everything has been leading up to that.”