By Leonard COUTIN

On Saturday, cross-country runners from across the state came to do battle at the 39th Annual Asics Clovis Invitational held at Woodward Park. This is also the location of the cross-country CIF state finals in November. The Invitational is a chance for runners to test their mid-season strength in a competitive environment while gaining valuable experience of running the state course.

Despite a long drive – the Invitational is over 220 miles away from La Crescenta – athletes are eager to participate. The Clovis Invitational hosts 16 different divisional races as well as featuring an additional two championship varsity boys and girls races.

The 5,000-meter course offers a variety of switchbacks, both flat and hilly, along some of the most scenic park views. At the beginning of Race 6, over 180 runners stood at the ready, waiting anxiously for the gun to be fired. Fighting to just stay upright is always first on the minds of the runners. Spectators could see a lot pushing and shoving for the first 800 meters as runners jockeyed for position; however, the Falcons boys appeared confident as they made a strong effort to break through the crowds.

CVHS senior Colin FitzGerald continued to push his way up the line, passing several runners along the first mile to rejoin the lead pack members on the second half of the course. As expected, the pace was fast and the top runners all performed strongly. A seasoned runner, FitzGerald knows how to make tactical moves to advance his position. Fellow Falcon Manan Vats, who continued to improve his running times, kept his distance close to FitzGerald during the first mile. Charging up the hill, the Falcons then worked hard on the backside of the course.

Facing the final straightway, Justin Hazel of El Camino Real took the lead to win with a time of 15:01.9, followed by Liam Anderson of Redwood (Larkspur) (15:03.0) and FitzGerald (15:13.0). The Falcons scored an overall fifth place team win to maintain its ranking in the CIF ratings.

Falcon contributors were Manan Vats who placed 25 (15:36.6), Zach Johnson, 30, (15:38.4), Spencer Geck, 52, (15:57.3), Artin Allahverdian, 58, (16:03.2,) Carter Walch, 101, (16:26.7) and Logan Neil, 138, (16:42.5).

“We are very happy with how we ran at Clovis,” said coach Mark Evans. “While we ran well, this is only the middle of the season. It is one check to see where we are against the other top teams. We still need to work on our grouping and getting our two to five runners to close the gap. We are still focusing on the process and training. We continue to look forward to the next meet. We analyze what we did in the last meet and work to improve on that in the next meet.

“The team is continuing to work hard and looking forward to our next race and running well in the league meet and, after that, the CIF prelim and finals meet and qualifying for the state meet. We really don’t assume anything and are taking the season one meet at a time.”

The teams’ final scores: Great Oak 81, Dublin 105, Dana Hills 141, St. Francis (MView) 143, Crescenta Valley 143, Newbury Park 241

Evans decided to give his girls a rest from running the championship race, and instead had them participate in Race No. 7. Getting off to a strong start were Caitlyn Couch and Naila Ortiz, who together worked the course well. Couch separated herself on the backside of the course and ran one of her best times, placing second running 18:33.9 behind Clovis’ Herrera Oliva (18:30.9). Ortiz captured 10th running 19:02.2. Falcon team contributors were Sophia Atin who placed 46 with a time of 20:08.1, Samantha Moore who placed 48th running a time of 20:09.70, McKenna Heeg, 51, (20:12.7), Gaby Borraez, 91, (20:49.7) and Melissa Owens, 161, 22:06.4. Final points differ from team point placements.

CV scored first in Race No. 7 with 147 points.

Final team scores: CV 141, Ayala 181, Amador Valley 186, San Juan Hills 208, Torrey Pine 221

  Leonard Coutin