Zebras varsity and frosh/soph boys finish third at Flat SAC Invitational

The Lincoln High cross-country team raced at Gibson Ranch Regional Park in Elverta for the Flat SAC Invitational last Saturday where the varsity and frosh/soph boys finished third while others performed well individually. "We try to mix up our training as much as possible but we also talk a lot about course strategy and mental toughness, and I think that's where I've seen the biggest growth," coach Abi Lund said. This was the best finish for the varsity boys all season in invitationals and junior Jaden Trujillo came in second out of 125 runners with a 5k time of 16:27. He was four seconds behind the winner. Senior Cameron Noreen sneaked into the Top 10 with a ninth-place finish of 16:59 while fellow senior Justin Hinson was 31st with a time of 18:27. "We started our season with a great summer base and our coach continues to give us challenging workouts during the season," Hinson said. "I especially like the speed workouts on Wednesdays and I think those have been key to our improvement." The frosh/soph boys came in third and were only two points behind the second-place team of West Park. Sophomore Jared Hall came in first for the Zebras with a time of 14:46 in the 2.25 mile race and was 13th out of 98 runners. Freshman Lucas Hancock trailed shortly behind finishing 26th overall at 15:36. Senior Peyton Derepentigny also performed well at the event as she was sixth out of 81 runners in the 5k varsity girls' race with a time of 19:49. Derepentigny has finished inside the Top 10 in all but one race this season. "It has been a goal of mine to finish consistently within the Top 10 at every meet and if this trajectory continues, I hope to be given the opportunity to race at the state meet," Derepentigny said. "With this being my last season of high school cross-country, I would love to make it all the way alongside my closest friends and teammates." To qualify for the state meet, runners have to finish in the Top 5 individually at sections. Junior Georgia DeRungs also competed last Saturday, finishing 22nd in the junior varsity girls' race out of 52 runners. The Zebras will race in the Foothill Valley League finals on Saturday at Railhead Park in Auburn. At the first league meet earlier this season, the varsity boys finished second out of five teams, just 14 points behind the Placer Hillmen. Lincoln has yet to have a varsity team win a league title in the new millennium. "To me and the other seniors, it would be amazing to win the league title and I can't wait to compete," Hinson said. "We want Lincoln cross-country to gain the respect we think our program deserves." Geiselman and Mobley finish Top 5 for Twelve Bridges High The Raging Rhinos also ran at the Flat SAC Invitational on Saturday with six runners, including freshmen Jackson Geiselman and Cameron Mobley who finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the frosh/soph boys' race. Geiselman came in with a time of 13:39 while Mobley was 13 seconds behind in the 2.25 mile race. "It was awesome to see them do so well in a much bigger race than they were used to," coach Tyler Raposa said. "They both have been improving so much every time they race and have made huge improvements since the beginning of the season. They are a great foundation to a team we will build around for the future." For the frosh/soph girls, it was freshman Elodie Anderson coming in first for the Rhinos at 16:47, finishing 13th out of 80 runners. Fellow freshmen Sydney Hofstetter and Kaitlyn Wolowodiuk were behind her in 58th and 70th, respectively. The Rhinos finished their inaugural season at the Pioneer Valley League championship at Bear River on Wednesday, after press time.