St. Margaret's cross country program made the journey north to Fresno this past weekend and participated in the Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park. The event is great preparation for the CIF State Championships held at the same venue in November and attracts top-ranked teams not only from the Southern Section but statewide as well.
 
The boys team executed a tactically well-run race, finishing No. 2 out of 28 teams. Notably, the Tartans (139 pts., 1:00 1-5 Split | 16:27 Avg) finished just behind top-ranked Ontario Christian (116 pts., 0:37 1-5 Split | 16:25 Avg) and ahead of No. 4 in California, Flintridge Prep (154 pts., 1:31 1-5 Split | 16:28 Avg). Zach Causee (15:57.50) finished 7th overall while Samarth Wadhwa (16:05.60) ran to a 10th-place finish for the Tartans.
 
The girls squad honed their race strategy for the Woodward Park course and finished No. 5 (176 pts., 2:07 1-5 Split | 21:21 Avg) out of 20 teams, eclipsing many top-ranked teams in the Southern Section. Joyce Li (12th, 20:10.60) led for the Tartans with Heidi Beshk (13th, 20:14.60) following close behind.
 
St. Margaret's will next compete at the Orange County Championships at Oak Canyon Park on Oct. 17 before turning attention to the League Finals on Nov. 5.
 
Go Tartans!