Normalcy returns with first high school sporting event since last March

Things finally felt back to normal on Monday for Oak Ridge's cross country team. At Union Mine High School, a cross country meet was held, the first CIF-sanctioned athletic event since the pandemic closed things down late last March. Oak Ridge High competed in the Union Mine Invitational, as did El Dorado, Golden Sierra, Bradshaw Christian and host Union Mine. Oak Ridge athletes set two school records, one at the varsity level where junior Ava Maier finished the three-mile course in 17 minutes, 38 seconds. "It was a surprise that I set a school record; however, we have been training for quite a while now hoping for some sort of race so I wasn't out of shape," Maier said. "I was really excited to have a race because my team has only done inter-squad time trials. I am very competitive, so it was very nice to get out and race somewhere outside of my town against other teams." The other school record was set by freshman Samantha Liaty, as she won the 2.2-mile freshman-sophomore girls' race in 13:19.6. "Beating school records was not something we expected in our first meet," Oak Ridge coach Chad Worthen said. "Now it's like, what can we do next? It's onward and upward." Worthen, a longtime coach who coached at Inderkum High School the last five years, is in his first year as head coach of the Trojans. He said it was a great to have a race against other teams again. "The kids were just thrilled to compete again; to put the uniform on and go through the routine and to start and finish the race," Worthen said. "What a fantastic feeling for everyone. They were exhausted, but posted good times." Following behind Maier in the varsity girls' race, teammate Abby Fletcher, a senior, finished three seconds behind her in second place in 17:41.6. Sophomore Quinn Walker (18:24.2), senior Tiana Oliver (18:39.3) and junior Kayla Rutz (19:26.7) placed third through fifth with personal-best times. Also running for the varsity girls was Hunter Divinagracia (10th, 23:01.1). Oak Ridge won the meet with a perfect 15 points, finishing well in front of El Dorado (42). For the varsity boys, Oak Ridge's five scorers ran sixth through 11th, excluding ninth place, and placed second as a team behind El Dorado. James Gezi, a senior, led the team by finishing sixth in 16:38. Junior Brian Lew (16:52.4) placed seventh and was followed by fellow junior Drew Gladwell (16:55). Junior Nathan Conover ran 10th (17:06) and sophomore Troy Esparza placed 11th in 17:34. Also running for the varsity boys were senior Evan Kwong (16th, 18:26.1) and junior Chase Gill (17th, 19:03.07). The freshman-sophomore girls' team also won the meet with a perfect score of 15 to runner-up El Dorado's 40, as Trojan runners finished in the top-five spots. Following Liaty's school-record run were sophomore Loralye Clements (13:40.7), freshman Sage Barden (14:22.2), and sophomores Lauren Olson (14:22.9) and Brooke Butler (14:28.9). The junior varsity boys also won its 2.2-mile race, 26-29, finishing in front of El Dorado. Senior James Burgos placed second in 13:59.8, while freshman teammate Liam Horne ran third in 14:54.3. Senior Timothy Studebaker ran fifth in 14:57.8, while rounding out the scoring were freshman Luca Ganry Mangematin (seventh, 16:44.3), and sophomore Arturo Ambriz (ninth, 17:07.8). The freshman-sophomore boys' posted a perfect 15 points to win their 2.2-mile race as well, led by first-place finisher Luke Carroll (12:11.7). Running second through fifth were fellow freshmen Zach Azouz (12:48.5), Elliott Brown (13:01.7), Kane Rios (13:02.5) and Carson Karr (13:04.5). Also running for the Trojans were Quentin Hardy (10th, 13:45.4) and Mustafa Ajmal (20th, 15:22.9). "We are scheduled to have six meets in the regular season if all goes well and everything holds up," Worthen said. "We hope to take advantage of all opportunities we can get." The Trojans are scheduled to take on Folsom on Saturday (February 6) at the Willow Hills Course at Folsom High. Whether the meet will happen and specifically at what time, remains to be decided. Oak Ridge's varsity girls' team has all five scoring runners back from the CIF State Championships in 2019 where they placed ninth. They were hoping to have a state meet this season to see if they could reach the podium, but the state championship race has been cancelled. "I am just grateful that we have some sort of a season schedule," Maier said. "I am disappointed; however, that there will not be a state meet so I will not get to race girls all across California. I know that my team is doing very well in training, and I think we had a real possibility of placing high up at the state meet and being section champs again."