As the rain slowly starts to pour down at Woodward Park in Fresno, the men’s and women’s cross-country teams knew the terrain of the course would become muddy and challenging.
“The course was easy and challenging. It was pretty flat but muddy because of the rain,” Reo Miranda-Lavertu, freshman, said.
Miranda-Lavertu said that because of the mud, runners were running at a faster velocity then they would normally.
“I think I could have placed better. The weather conditions affected my performance and I had to be more cautious about my surroundings,” Miranda-Lavertu said.
Miranda-Lavertu placed 47th with a time of 21:13 and was excited to have competed in the state championship.
“It was my first time going to Woodward Park to compete,” Miranda-Lavertu said. “This is the course that always has the state championships at, including the high school competitions.”
Miranda-Lavertu said that participating in the event was very exciting for him because was competing against the top schools and the best of the best.
“I think everyone enjoyed themselves despite the weather conditions,” Jimi Duffin, sophomore, said. “This was our final meet.”
Duffin said that there was puddles and mud that made the flat course a bit challenging but was manageable.
“Everyone just ran through it and the weather was a minor factor that may have affected some of the runners performance,” Duffin said.
Duffin had a time of 21:44 and placed 80th.
“We went out and tried our best. We knew this was our last meet,” Anique Villegas, freshman, said.
Villegas placed 67th with a time of 20:10.
“The course was pretty physical and a lot of it looked the same,” Villegas said. “It was kind of hard to know where you were at in terms of the course.”
Villegas said that she stayed close to Rosa Castro throughout the race to make sure she was following the correct path.
“Being able to participate in a state championship was exciting,” Villegas said. “Despite our team having new and injured runners, we managed to compete as individuals.”