Cross Country Performs Well at League Meet

Posted: Sep 25, 2017

ELVERTA, Calif. – The St. Francis cross country team won the Varsity race and placed second in the Frosh/Soph at the annual Delta League meet held Wednesday morning.

"For us it was a solid performance," said Head Coach Aron Rios. "We got out of it what we were looking for. The girls got in a quality work day and worked on some mental tests. We got to see a lot of good things from the league and what everyone will bring to the championship in October."

The Troubadours out-scored Davis 32-37 with three in the top five and all five scorers among the top 11.

"Today we were trying to stick together in groups and work together to progressively get faster throughout the race," said senior Erica Cradeur, who clocked a 21:01 over the 3-mile course to finish 32nd. "We all ended up running our pace and finishing strong. I was really proud of the team."

Senior Sydney Vandegrift was the top finisher for SF, placing second overall in 18:27. She almost chased down winner Sophia Lodigiani over the final stretch.

Junior Sophie DeBenedetti was foutth in 18:55 and sophomore Haley Silva was fifth in 19:16. Freshman Hanna Hekkanen crossed the line 10th overall in 19:50 and senior Alana Reyna was the fifth scorer for the team in 11th place (19:57).

"We treated this meet like a tempo/workout day," said Cradeur. "We have to be mentally tough. It is about learning how to work as a team."

The Frosh/Soph team was second overall behind Davis in a close race for the team title 35-38.

Sophomore Nicole McBride finished second for the Troubadours, closing fast on the winner and just four-tenths behind Mykell Bouwhuis of Elk Grove.

"When I was racing down the stretch, I was thinking how much (Head Coach) Aaron (Rios) does for us," said McBride. "I wanted to win for him because he puts in so much of his time for us. I wanted to make him proud. I am hope I did."

The Troubies had a successful pack run with three in the top five. Behind McBride was sophomore Audrey Reyes in fourth (12:50) and sophomore Grace Harrison in fifth (12:57). Freshman Madeline Fahey was 13th overall in 13:13 and Izabel Quackenbush was two seconds back to cross fifth.

"We have a system where we go easy on the first mile and then pick off one by one," said McBride. "Little goals really help you complete in the big race. If you set the small goals, then suddenly it is a short race."

McBride's finish was a career-best while her time was more than 30 seconds per mile faster than the same race a year ago.

"I definitely feel more confident and if I can race with Grace (Harrison) and Audrey (Reyes), we can all bring ourselves up into the top three," said McBride.

St. Francis will take to the Haggin Oaks Golf Course on Saturday for the Capital Cross Challenge.