First published in the Dec. 3 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
The Crescenta Valley High School varsity boys’ cross-country team finished its terrific season with its fifth consecutive trip to the CIF State meet at Woodward Park in Fresno while reaching the podium for the first time in school history.
“Previous to this, our best finish was fourth place back in 2008,” head coach Mark Evans said. “This is a great group; it all started over the summer. These guys really bought into what we were trying to do and bought into the process. I am really proud of these guys and they really had each other’s back all year.”
The Falcons finished third overall in the 3.1-mile race with 167 points and a 1:19:54 cumulative time, as senior Parker Simmons (15:09.7) led the team with a third-place finish.
“Parker had a great race,” Evans said. “He’s been running well all year but he has been really consistent. We needed that low number of points — that was crucial for us.”
Junior Eddie Sion claimed 48th with a 16:02.8 time, senior Harrison Connors (16:06.1) finished 54th, and senior Jamie Cartnal placed 65th with a 16:14.3 time. Sophomore Liam Zadoorian crossed the finish line in 73rd in 16:20.9, junior Josh Chambers (16:41.6) was 103rd and senior Luke Cheney rounded out the group in 108th in 16:43.2.
“We had 166 points at the 2-mile mark and we finished with 167. That was huge; our training really focuses on being strong in the last half of the race,” Evans said. “Those two, three, four, five guys were all critical.”
Crescenta Valley will look to duplicate its successful season next year while seeking its sixth consecutive CIF State meet appearance.
