Varsity boys cross-country wraps up successful season

Varsity boys cross-country wraps up successful season

Mary Baker, Staff Writer

The varsity boys cross country team had a very successful season this year, finishing second in CIF and eighth in State. However, the success was not unexpected. Sophomore Hank Tadeusiak said, “Heading into the season we felt confident that we would have a strong chance to go on to state. We were fortunate enough to get Joaquin Martinez, an essential runner on our team, and have our returning veteran runners. Everyone on the team worked hard over summer to try and secure us a spot in State.”

The boys’ road to state and CIF did not come easily. Sophomore Daniel Robinson described their weekly training and said, “Depending on the skill of the athlete, [practice] ranges from about 48-60 miles [6 days] a week in our squad, including long-runs, short “recovery” runs, hill workouts, speed workouts, and tempo runs.”

However, running is not the only type of conditioning used for cross-country. Senior Raymond Boffman said, “We have to work on our core because if we cannot maintain a strong composure during a race, we’ll slow down. Also, we have to work on arm, back, and chest muscles so that we can properly pump our arms, especially for hilly courses. Then, we also have stadium workouts (running the steps of the stadium) for lower body. The day before a race we’ll usually go through sets of hurdle drills to loosen up and practice our form.”

The team competed in many meets this year. Their two toughest opponents were University City and Ramona, two teams they also competed against at State and CIF. The Dons beat rival University City this year, which was a notable accomplishment since UC has typically been victorious over CCHS in past seasons.

Mt. Sac in East LA County and the CIF course at Morley Field in San Diego proved to be the toughest courses for the boys this year. Averaging 3.2 miles a course, sophomore Michael Robinson said, “Cross country is a very tough sport, and no course can be possibly defined as “easy,” because all of them are tough. Many people have off days and on days, due in part to daily health or mental preparation. There are also courses that have the [reputation] of being challenging.”

The boys are already anticipating their next season and can’t wait to get back out on the track. Freshman Joaquin Martinez expressed his high hopes for next season and said, “From here, there is only room for improvement. Next year, we plan on going to state and doing even better than we did this year. Our team consists of a lot of under class men, so we think we can do very well next year and the year after.”

 

Individual Stats and Accomplishments From Western League

-Raymond Boffman – finished 2nd place overall (with Cathedral’s all time record for the course)

-Joaquin Martinez- finished 3rd place overall, named Western League Freshman Male Runner of the Year

-Hank Tadeusiak- finished 4th place overall, named Western League Sophomore Runner of the Year

Individual Stats and Accomplishments From CIF

-Raymond Boffman – finished 2nd place (also finished second last year as a junior), made the All-San Diego Boy’s Cross Country Team

-Joaquin Martinez – finished 3rd place, (was the fastest freshman at CIF course this year), was the only freshman to make the All-San Diego Boy’s Cross Country Team

-Hank Tadeusiak- finished 5th place

Individual Stats and Accomplishments From State

-Raymond Boffman- finished 10th overall in Division Three, making him the first All State performer on the boys’ side since 1990. Finished with the time 15:33 (averaged a 5:01 per mile)

-Joaquin Martinez- finished 16th overall in Division Three (fastest freshman in the state of California). Finished with the time of 15:42 (averaged 5:04 per mile)

-Hank Tadeusiak- finished 10th fastest sophomore in the state of California. Finished with time of 16:05 (averaged 5:11 per mile)