Ojai Valley School’s boys and girls cross country teams registered solid performances Wednesday afternoon as they competed in their first Condor League meet of the season.
Three runners – junior Gilim Bae and senior Ally Feiss for the girls, and freshman Bill Liu – placed in the Top Ten in their respective races in a meet hosted by Laguna Blanca at the Modoc Preserve in Santa Barbara.
Three runners – junior Gilim Bae and senior Ally Feiss for the girls, and freshman Bill Liu – placed in the Top Ten in their respective races in a meet hosted by Laguna Blanca at the Modoc Preserve in Santa Barbara.
Although Laguna participates in cross country each year, this is the first time in recent yeas that the Owls have hosted a meet, and the coaches laid out a tough course for the runners to traverse.
Nevertheless, it took Bill only 19 minutes and 25 seconds to complete the 2.8-mile circuit, finishing in ninth place overall. Sophomore Eric Liang was only 15 second back, finishing in 19:40 and securing 13th place.
The boys team finished third of the five teams that competed.
On the girls’ side, Gilim placed third overall with a time of 21 minutes, 45 seconds, while Ally came in eighth with a time of 26:22. This is Ally’s fourth year in cross country, and her first Top Ten finish in a Condor League race.
“Placing in the top ten made me really excited,” she said. “It gives me motivation to push myself to improve and stay in the top ten.”
Of special note was the performance by freshman Tracy Zeng, who completed her first ever cross country race as the team’s fourth runner. Training in the heat and on the hills of the Upper Campus, Tracy could not even run a mile to start the season in early September.
Now, she is an integral member of a team that finished third on Wednesday, and only three points out of second place.
“Tracy is what cross country is all about,” said OVS coach Fred Alvarez. “She seized the opportunity to work hard and improve, and then she was able to put that to the test on race day and see the results. What a great day for her, and for the rest of the OVS runners.”