St. Margaret's Cross Country Teams Gear Up for League Season
Both Tartan squads equated themselves well at the Laguna Hills Invitational
With approximately 4,000 individual entries and 40 teams, the Laguna Hills Invitational has become one of the most significant cross country events in the county. The goal for the Tartan cross country team last Saturday was to execute a fundamentally sound race plan on the complex Laguna Hills racecourse. That tactical emphasis resulted in several race victories and a very successful showing in the second competition of the season.
Liesel Blau and the freshman girls team opened the meet and her 18:22 winning time would hold up as the fastest time of the day, regardless of age or division. She broke away from the main pack at the mile mark with Jadyn Zdanavage of Portola in tow and then dropped Zdanavage on the backside of the infamous Hawk Hill.
The junior duo of Jackson Adelman and Calvin Capelle went 1-2 respectively in their race by using veteran tactics to separate from a strong JSerra squad. Adelman and Capelle coordinated a series of accelerations in an isolated portion of the course with under a mile to go. When the two rounded the final corner leading up to the stadium, they had extended their lead to well over 50 meters.
"It was an impressive display of running IQ by Jackson and Calvin. They are both so calm and methodical in their approach to racing, and it's starting to pay off. The skill they are displaying is well beyond their years, and they often race like collegiate athletes. I'm impressed with their progress and very proud of their hard work in getting to this point," head coach Patrick Bendzick said.
The freshmen boys scoring five of Kevin Shen, Kevin Chou, Will Peffer, Caden Gazzaniga, and Mark Gonzalez combined for a 13 point win over second-place Portola. Their race was packed full of talent with county powers Servite, Santa Margarita and Corona del Mar in the field.
The Tartans open the league season on September 26th at Mason Park in Irvine. Both squads are the defending Academy League Champions and enter the meet as two of the top-ranked teams in the CIF Southern Section.
Liesel Blau and the freshman girls team opened the meet and her 18:22 winning time would hold up as the fastest time of the day, regardless of age or division. She broke away from the main pack at the mile mark with Jadyn Zdanavage of Portola in tow and then dropped Zdanavage on the backside of the infamous Hawk Hill.
The junior duo of Jackson Adelman and Calvin Capelle went 1-2 respectively in their race by using veteran tactics to separate from a strong JSerra squad. Adelman and Capelle coordinated a series of accelerations in an isolated portion of the course with under a mile to go. When the two rounded the final corner leading up to the stadium, they had extended their lead to well over 50 meters.
"It was an impressive display of running IQ by Jackson and Calvin. They are both so calm and methodical in their approach to racing, and it's starting to pay off. The skill they are displaying is well beyond their years, and they often race like collegiate athletes. I'm impressed with their progress and very proud of their hard work in getting to this point," head coach Patrick Bendzick said.
The freshmen boys scoring five of Kevin Shen, Kevin Chou, Will Peffer, Caden Gazzaniga, and Mark Gonzalez combined for a 13 point win over second-place Portola. Their race was packed full of talent with county powers Servite, Santa Margarita and Corona del Mar in the field.
The Tartans open the league season on September 26th at Mason Park in Irvine. Both squads are the defending Academy League Champions and enter the meet as two of the top-ranked teams in the CIF Southern Section.
St. Margaret’s Episcopal School
Translation? ¿Traducción? 翻译?: