Zebras cross-country looks to have strong season under new coach Mosbacher, Raging Rhinos adding athletes to team

The Lincoln High cross-country team is coming off of a solid 2021 season where they sent 23 runners to the Sac-Joaquin Section meet and two runners to the State Championships. One of those runners who made it to State is senior Jaden Trujillo, who finished 45th out of 207 competitors at the race and has been consistently improving during the offseason. Trujillo also competed in track and field for Lincoln High during the spring before training for the San Francisco Marathon where he finished 19th at 2:49:17 on July 23. "Training for the marathon this summer got me in the best physical and mental shape of my life," Trujillo said. "I'm a strong runner now who has gained crazy endurance and some speed as well that I will build throughout the season. It would be amazing if I could be the league champion and section champon and I'm really going to try to do that this season." Other solid runners returning this season for Lincoln High are senior Evan Carleton-Sniff and junior Jared Hall. The Zebras will also have a new head coach for the program, Laura Mosbacher, who coached five seasons at Twelve Bridges Middle School prior. "I am very excited to work with our Lincoln High cross-country team," Mosbacher said. "The fact that we have so many returning runners, most of which competed in sections last season, puts us in a great position to improve individually and as a team. We also have a good number of incoming freshmen who are strong runners and will be joining our team, which is exciting. I'd like to see growth in all aspects of our team and individual performances, whether it be improved times on specific courses, athletes meeting their own personal goals or section meet results." Abi Lund, who coached the Zebras prior to Mosbacher, will serve as an assistant, along with Doug Croall. On the girls' side, while runners such as Peyton Derepentigny graduated, multiple varsity girls returning who competed at sections include Savanah Penders, Celise Pacheco and Lucia Kirkpatrick. The Fighting Zebras will race in their first meet on Aug. 27 in the Oakmont Invitational at Maidu Park in Roseville. They have two other invitationals before competing in their first league meet on Sept. 28 at Nevada Union High School. "I've heard the team described as a 'cross country family' and, from what I've seen, this is true," Mosbacher said. "The support they have for and from each other will be the strong base from which we work this year and I think we will have a great season!" Twelve Bridges High School The Raging Rhinos only had six runners in their inaugural season but have added athletes to help build their team. The top three runners in 2021 returning this year are Cameron Mobley, Jackson Geiselman and Elodie Anderson, who all had multiple races where they finished inside the Top 5. "They set a good example for the new athletes and always give 100 percent at practice," coach Tyler Raposa said. "They all show captain potential in the upcoming season." One difference in 2022 for Twelve Bridges High will be the number of events they will compete in as they only raced five times last season. They are currently scheduled for six races outside of the Pioneer Valley League, not including the Sac-Joaquin Subsection meet. "I have a couple goals for the upcoming season but the biggest goals would be to grow the team and expand our numbers and also build some runners up to the varsity level," Raposa said. "I believe our team has some great athletes to jump to the varsity level this year, even at the sophomore grade level. There are even a few freshmen that have been looking great over summer, including incoming freshman Peter Kendall, who I can tell has a passion for running." The Rhinos will also begin their season with the Oakmont Invitational on Aug. 27 before racing in the Josh Ruff Memorial Invitational at Willow Hills Reservoir in Folsom on Sept. 10.