The Hart High School boys’ cross-country team highlighted the last weekend for teams in the Santa Clarita Valley who participated in the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section championships as the Hawks finished as finalists in Division 2.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” Hart coach Darren James said. “We were ranked third going into the weekend, so we were really happy with the outcome … We felt that we had a bit of a sickness and a guy coming back from kind of a long break, so we weren’t sure how it was going to go. But I think everything clicked and it was a great day.”
The Hawks placed second in the Division 2 three-mile race and Josiah Himsl led all Hart runners with a 14:40.8 and placed 17th.
Nicolas Zamora and Samuel Aina placed 18th and 19th, respectively, and were only two seconds separated from Himsl.
“In cross country, one of the things we talk about is the spread, which is what’s the time frame between your first runner and your fifth runner, and we were 14 seconds, which is just an incredibly tight pack,” James said, in response to how the team utilizes running in a pack to its advantage.
With the team competing in Division 2, the Hawks have the opportunity to advance to Nike cross country nationals as one of two automatic bids that the California state championship offers.
“Division 2 across all five divisions in the Finals was by far the fastest,” James said. “We know it’s going to be the most competitive division in the state. And we think after coming off this past weekend that we have a legitimate chance.”
As for the Hart girls’ side, the team did not advance to the state championship as they competed in the Division 2 category and placed 12th in the team’s scores.
The West Ranch boys’ cross-country team advanced alongside the Hart boys’ team as the Wildcats placed third in the Division 3 category.
Braulio Castillo led all Wildcat runners and placed third in the race with a 14:32.4 time, three seconds off the leader.
For the Centurions, it was a great weekend for Saugus High School as both the boys and girls advanced to the state championship.
Both teams placed fifth in their respective Division 2 races as Adrian Cantu led his team, placing third with a 14:06.7 time, and Lucia Pearson finished seventh on the girls’ side with a 16:54.0.
Trinity Classical Academy had its boys’ cross-country team run in the Southern Section championship in the Division 5 race but didn’t advance as the Knights placed 14th with only the top six schools qualifying.
As for the teams that advanced, the state championship is scheduled to be held at Woodward Park in Fresno on Saturday with the Division 2 boys race set to begin the competitions at 8:30 a.m.
