Sunday, August 27, 2017

St. Francis Cross Country Opens with Strong Performances at Oakmont Invite

Cross Country Opens with Strong Performances at Oakmont

ROSEVILLE, Calif. – The St. Francis cross country program captured two team and individual titles in the opening meet of the season at the Oakmont Invitational on Saturday.

“It was great and I am so excited,” said senior Sydney Vandegrift. “We have been working so hard during the summer. We have had all 50 girls show up. It has been great. We decided to stay as a pack at the beginning, working on starting well as a team and building up to the end.”

The St. Francis varsity opened the meet with 29 points to easily claim the team title, placing six among the top 10 and all 10 among the top 30. Vandegrift won the individual title in 14:25 with her teammates close behind.

Junior Sophie DeBenedetti and sophomore Haley Silva were fifth and sixth overall 12 15:06 followed by sophomore Emma Hollenbach in eighth in 15:12. Junior Noelle Lynch and Alana Reyna crossed seconds late to round out the scoring five.

Freshman Hann Hekkanen placed 25th in her first high school race, while sophomore Nicole McBride posted one of the top year-to-year improvements with her time of 16.02.

“It was fun running with the older girls and feeling what they experience,” said McBride. “I felt part of a team because we stayed together.”

She dropped 1:12 from her first race last season at Maidu Park.

“It is really satisfying knowing all the hard work we put in six days a week pays off,” said McBride. “It made me very proud of everyone. All the speeches from the coaches, we really took it heart and accomplished it.”

St. Francis also won the junior varsity race, sweeping the top five places to post a perfect score of 15. Sophomore Grace Harrison won the individual title, pacing her Troubie teammates across the line in 16:46, an improvement of 2:32 from last season at Oakmont.

“It felt really good,” said Harrison. “I never thought I was going to be able to win a race. When it was happening with .3 left, I was wondering if I was going to do it and I did not want to jinx myself. It felt unreal and cool. I am really glad I ran all summer to make this happen.”

The SF program was also well represented in the Frosh/Soph race, showing the growth and depth of the program with more than 30 Troubies in the trademark yellow jerseys overtaking the course. Madeline Fahey was the top finisher in the race for the team.
“It was a culmination of all the hard work and determination the girls put in over the summer,” said Head Coach Aaron Rios. “We are looking like we are going to have a phenomenal year. The girls are amazing.”

Overall, 11 Troubies posted personal-bests at the meet. St. Francis will be off this week before returning to action at the Ed Sias Invitational on Sept. 9.

Varsity Team Results (Top 5)
1. St Francis 29
2. Vista Del Lago 104
3. Woodcreek 104
4. Rocklin 137
5. Placer 184

Individual Varsity Results

Junior Varsity Team Results

1. St Francis15
2. Whitney 80
3. Woodcreek 91
4. Oak Ridge 96
5. Del Oro 111
6. McClatchy 114

Junior Varsity Team Results


Steven Shaff
Assistant AD/Sports Information
St. Francis High School

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Impressive results!

Is Fauria still at St. Francis?

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