Cross to State
Eisenhower's cross country team has returned from state, and all we can say is that it was one interesting day. The team of 7 for the boys varsity team consisted of Nemiah Villanueva, Casey Smith-Apperson, Keagan Garcia, Sam Roy, Wolfgang Nelson, Jacen Reyes, and Brent Johnson, and the two individual girls, Caris Cuevas and Zophie Hopkins. The team of 7 won district and league titles, adding to Mister's insane amount of league and district titles, which is now 44 league titles, 44 district titles, and 53 state appearances. Mister sure is an insanely dedicated coach. Though rough and pretty hard-headed, he still very much cares for his athletes, along with his assistant coaches, Coach Price, Coach Alfaro, and Coach Hoit, who just want the best for their athletes and are always there to help them improve.
These runners have worked hard all season to make a state appearance, working all summer, grinding all season, and fighting a lot through aches and pains just for a state appearance. Eisenhower raced against really good schools in their league and still won every single league race. For a team of mostly juniors, two seniors, one sophomore, and one freshman, they powered through districts and even qualified for state; they seem to be going pretty strong for next year, too, only losing two seniors and then gaining one of the best runners in the state next year to the team. At the state race, the team started pretty strong, but slowly, the team started to spread out and got behind the pack in the middle of the race. The team placed 16th at state, but yet again, it's the first time at state for most of the team, and now that they have a state experience, they still have a lot more time to improve and will surely have a great and possibly better season next year. However, some runners had good races and a good state appearance.
Only two qualified for state for the girls, and they both ran really good races. Zophie Hopkins and Caris Cuevas ran hard and strong races at state. Zophie Hopkins had a fast finish, even breaking a seasonal record. Caris Cuevas also had a very strong finish, catching and hawking down a ton of girls, beating many of them by seconds and even milliseconds, even passing one right before the line. These two young ladies are a strong duo pushing each other in every race and every workout, getting faster and stronger every day working together. These girls were expected to make state since the season started, placing top 14 every league race, not letting anyone take their spots away from them. Through challenging courses and sometimes even the people in their races, these young ladies are strong, powerful runners, and we are sure they'll make it to state next year.
Eisenhower cross country is a strong team and always has been, even once, undefeated league and district champions for several years straight. Their coaches are amazing and always make sure to turn their athletes into the best runners they can be. After a whole summer, a long season, and long days, the season is almost over for Eisenhower. Regionals are up next, which means Eisenhower will have to travel far to compete in regionals all the way down in Boise, Idaho. One last race stands, one last chance in the season for a great race.
