Cross Country Gets Invited to Woodbridge!!

This weekend girls cross country varsity team traveled to Los Angeles, California for the 39th annual Woodbridge invitational. There was more than 400 school from 16 different states and it became the biggest high school cross country meet in the nation for 3 consecutive years.  Pioneer Valley’s cross country girls had never attended to such a recognizable meet in all of the school’s history. The girls ran a total of 3.0 miles at 8:20 pm at night. The team was lead by Freshman Makayla Gonzalez with a time of (20:33 min), Junior Katie Magni with the time of (20:47 min), and Junior Charlize Placencia with a (21:04 min).  Many of them were nervous before the race and for some it was their first race running as varsity and for the season.

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At the start of the school was a cheerleader and decided to do something a little different for her junior year so she joined the Cross Country team. Kimberly came in Fourth for PV with a time of (21:29 min) “Going to the race as a junior is nerve-wracking and I feel I should have started Cross Country since my freshman year barbecue I would be more experienced in these types of races. I’m nervous because this is going to be my first Varsity race and I don’t know what to expect or how I’m going to do. My goal for this race is to get more experience and try to improve. So far I feel good but I also feel like I started late so that really messed me up because if I would’ve started at the same time everyone else did I would feel more confident with myself and conditioned right now  because this is not the best I can do I know I can push myself even more.” Kimberly Castro (11)

Ashley came in 6th place for PV with a time of (23:04) “My goal for the race was to go out strong and maintain a steady pace all the way. It was very intimidating racing in such a big race but the crowd was very supportive  and cheerful. With this season being my last yet my second. I’m looking forward to improving my times from last year individually as well as a team. The girls have been working so hard and I can see a bright future for everyone in Cross Country. I’m hoping to make the best out of this last season by continuing to progress, staying motivated and getting prepared for my last track season soon. But the main focus is to keep having fun with my teammates” Ashley Santiago (12)

Maritsa came in fifth for PV with a time of (21:30 min). “Going to this race as a freshman  I feel weird because I’m going against girls that are older than me and it feels unreal that I can be faster than some of them. My goal for the race is to keep a good pace and finish strong. I feel great being in cross country even though I never thought I would be doing this sport. After the race I want to catch my breath first and hug my teammates because I know they will do amazing.”  Maritsa Carmona (9)

“I feel confident for this being my first race of the season because that way I can see how much I have improved coming back from being injured and see how much I can improved by the end of the season. My goal for this race is shooting for being 100 but somewhere around 20 minutes would be a nice goal since its my first race back. After the race I’m going to chugged a Gatorade and I’m really excited about racing again its been about a year since the last time I competed.”                                 Katie Magni (11)

“I feel kind of nervous but at the same time pretty confident about the race. My goal is to get faster and improve my times. So far in the season I feel great because I’ve come a long way and tried my hardest to get to the point where I am. Once I get home I’m going to fall asleep on my bed right away. I’m really excited about running with all the girls, having a great time, finishing the race strong and give it all we have at the end.” Makayla Gonzalez (9)