For most high school students, a Saturday morning after the first few weeks of school means sleeping in. However, for cross country athletes, it means waking up at 5:30 am to prepare for their first meet of the year.
On Saturday, Sep. 7, the MVHS cross country team traveled to San Francisco to compete at the 2024 Lowell Invitational. The event attracted 3,066 high school cross country athletes from across the Bay Area, with three divisions for girls and four divisions for boys. This year’s race marked the event’s 51st anniversary, and Mountain View sent 114 athletes.
The varsity boys team placed second in their heat, and sophomore boys and varsity girls both placed third. The freshmen boys team narrowly missed the podium, finishing in fourth place, seven points shy of third. Frosh-soph girls clinched a top ten team score with their fastest runner finishing 37th, and the non-varsity girls team finished 14 out of 45 schools.
“It was the first race of the year,” junior Cassidy Misuraca said. “It was fun.”
Strategy was also an important component of preparation for these races, athletes said. Sophomore Arthur Muller said that he wanted to stay at a similar pace as his teammate, before accelerating past racers as they approached the finish line.
“We’re doing pretty well, as expected,” junior Kristian Orlovic said. “I’m very happy with my performance today.”
For many runners, including freshman David Willrich, the Lowell Invitational was their first high school cross country meet.
“Everyone showed every bit of their support during the races,” Willrich said. “It was a great atmosphere for the team.”
