NP cross country fights an uphill battle
The silence is broken when the starting pistol is fired. A stampede of running shoes passes by, getting faster every second. The crowd of spectators watches intensely while yelling a variety of jeers and encouragement to the runners. This was the start of the Ventura County Cross Country [XC] Championships.
The Ventura County XC Championships took place at Lake Casitas on Oct. 18, in Ojai. Athletes from 12 high schools across Ventura County attended. The course was run on a campsite renovated into a XC trail, consisting of dirt and asphalt paths, totaling three miles long.
Oak Park High School won the meet with their athletes podiuming in every event; they were followed by Camarillo High School and Foothill High School. Newbury Park High School [NPHS] placed sixth in the boys’ varsity three-mile race, fourth in the boys’ junior varsity [JV] race, first in the girls’ JV race, fifth in the girls’ varsity race and fifth in the boys’ freshmen race.
The girls’ junior varsity race marked Newbury Park’s best placement of the day, with them getting first place. The largest race of the day was the JV race with over 130 athletes. NPHS athlete, Jayden Benson, senior, placed 13th. Benson feels he owes his success to his mantra, which helped him on the hilly portion of the race. “It’s not about the pace, it’s about the place,” Benson said.
The course contained many hills, which were challenging for the runners. Kevin Cruz, freshman, ran the 3-mile course. “[The Hills] got everybody scared. The hills were especially hard [after the start of the course], that was [when I] slowed down.” Cruz ended up winning 13th place in the boys’ freshmen race.
Another NPHS athlete in the JV race was Lukas Silva, junior. During the race, Silva lost his running pacer and had to stop running to find it. This caused Silva to fall behind; however, he feels that there is more to the meet than the outcome of the race. “If it wasn’t for this and for chances like [this race], I wouldn’t bond with [my team] as much,” Silva said.
NPHS athletes used a variety of running workouts to prepare for the meet. Each day, their workouts were decided by their cross-country coach, Kristopher Karsten. “The thing about distance running is that we have to train six days a week, and you can’t run as hard as possible six straight days a week, or your body can’t handle it,” Karsten said.
According to Karsten, in a typical week of training, the team would do two hard workouts on Monday and Friday, accompanied by two moderately difficult workouts and one long-distance run on the remaining days.
Next year, NPHS is planning on attending the Ventura County XC Championships again. The course at Lake Casitas this year was challenging and contained many obstacles; however, NP XC athletes powered through them with hard work and resilience. “I’ve always been a fan of my hills. That’s what I feel like I’m good at,” Benson said.
