The Minarets Boys Cross Country team came up just short of their season-long goal on Wednesday, the tenth. After dominating the West Sequoia League all season and being ranked number one in the D5 Valley Section behind top runners Hunter Cornett and Kalé Simmons, the team traveled to Woodward Park in Clovis hoping to cap off the year with a league championship victory. It was a foggy morning in the central valley, with the girls' 3-mile varsity race starting at 9:30 AM and the boys' race at 10:00. The girls' race was full of personal records, but with Minarets’ top girl runner, Caitlyn Videgain being unable to run because of a foot injury, the girls' team was unable to take home the league title. However, both Daphne Christensen and Carolyn Fay took home medals in the event for placing in the top 15.
The boys' race was quite eventful, full of exciting finishes and inspiring performances. Unfortunately, the Minarets team was full of injuries, with runners Hunter Cornett, Conor Kelly, Kobe Simmons, and Robbie English all coming into the race hobbled in some way. This lead to a somewhat disappointing performance from the team, earning them a 2nd place finish in the meet as a whole with Riverdale Highschool taking 1st place in the West Sequoia League.
There was a palpable sense of disappointment in the team after the race, especially since Hunter Cornett suffered a fractured hip during the race, and had to be helped by teammates to get on the podium to receive his medal. A sad end to a great season, the team improved immensely during the year and had many successes, but came up just short at the finish line. The team has their valley meet on Thursday, November 18th, but with Cornett out with a hip fracture, there’s little chance they will place high enough to advance to the state meet, putting little pressure on the team.
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