CROSS COUNTRY SPORT SHORTS, 2009
(Latest cross country sports shorts will be at the top of the section. Scroll down to check out past results.

CIF CENTRAL SECTION DIVISION V VALLEY CHAMPIONSHIP–Nov. 12
Led by senior Doug Daniel time of 18: 02, the Eagles vied for the CIF Central Section Division V Valley Championship, Nov. 12.

“I was incredibly nervous,” Daniel said. “I couldn’t sleep last night, and my hands were shaking before the race. My strategy was too go out hard and hold on, because if I went out slow and fell behind then I would never be able to find the leaders again.”

Daniel achieved a 6th place finish while running his best race of the season according to head coach Janae Ford. The Eagles No. 1 runner barely edged Mission Prep sophomore Ethan Hopwood (18:04) with a much improved kick down the home stretch.

“Doug ran his hardest race and took sixth place,” Ford said. “God has
definitely blessed him with an amazing ability to run.”

Sophomore Josh Hopper finished 24th in 21 minutes flat for FC, while running beside junior Frank Daniel (21:10) and freshman Austin Maddux (21:25) for most of the race. Rounding out the team were freshman Chris Weddington at 22:23 and sophomore Trevor York at 24:46)

In the Division V girls race, junior Rachel Wilhelm (27:18) earned 15th place with help from sophomore Gigi Thao (27:51 19th). Senior Paige Powell recorded her best time with a 29:59, and freshman Ashley Erickson and Dana King finished in 31:47 and 34:32 respectively.

The high finish earned Daniel a spot in the California Division V State Championship meet at Woodward Park, Nov. 28.

“The neat thing about Doug is that he enjoys running so much, and it’s evident when you watch him race,” Ford said. “Everyone should come and support him at the State meet because it really is a big deal.”

After achieving his long-time goal of reaching the State Championship last season as a junior, Daniel felt pressure to qualify this year as well.

“I felt great about making state,” Daniel said. “I am primarily relieved, because this is the first year where I really felt nervous about not making it.”

KINGSBURG INVITATIONAL–Oct. 29
After an encouraging performance last week, the Eagles took on a field which included the top runners from around the valley, in the Kingsburg Invitational at the Kingsburg Gun Club, Oct. 29.

Historically, the event has not produced senior Doug Daniels’ best runs, however this time was different. Daniel bolted off to a fast start, and finished the same way for a season-best 17:17 and 80th place out of 243 competitors in the 3 mile Varsity boys race.

“Doug just ran a great race,” head coach Janae Ford said. “The JV boys also ran very hard and earned personal records, which was cool to see. It was an amazing race for us.”

Junior Justin Vilhauer of Redwood High ran a 14:33 to finish first in the same race. Vilhauer smashed his former personal-best 14:53 on his way to the victory.

“Barring a miracle, I had no realistic chance of winning that race,” Daniel said. “But I ran a good time, and I’m very happy with that. Justin was amazing today. All I can say is ‘I’m glad he’s not running in division five, because if he were, I’d be in trouble.”

In the JV boys race, sophomore Josh Hopper led FC with a time of 19:17 for 59th place out of 165 runners. Also in the field for the Eagles were freshman Austin Maddux (19:23, 62nd), freshman Chris Weddington (19:30, 64th), and sophomore Trevor York (23:59, 149th).

The win went to Buchanan sophomore CJ Albertson, who went around the Gun Club in a personal-record 14:45.

On the girls side, junior Rachel Wilhem and sophomore Gigi Thao ran together for the majority of the race, finishing in 25:12 and 25:13 respectively. Wilhelm was 117th out of 146 runners, while Thao ended up 119th.

“There was more teamwork at this race than there has been at any other race,” Ford said. “Gigi was encouraging Rachel, and I just saw Jesus in her when she did that. Also the boys made up a chant for the two girls, encouraging them to the finish.”

Clovis High’s senior Saylah Barserian finished the race in 16:50 to claim first place and her first victory of the year. Barserian won two track events last spring (the 5000m at CIF Central Section Championships and the 3200m at West Coast Relays).

The Eagles’ lone runner in the JV girls event, freshman Ashley Erickson pushed past shin splints to complete the run in 28:48, and finish 62nd out of 67 competitors.

CROSS COUNTRY, 2009
TULARE INVITATIONAL–Oct. 23
Senior Doug Daniel was on his game at the Tulare Invitational, Oct. 23.

Daniel finished the 3.1 mile Varsity race in a season-best 17:30, earning him 5th place overall.

“I was very proud of Doug because he ran very hard and didn’t use his watch,” head coach Janae Ford said. “And he was the only athlete on our team that earned a medal.”

Despite running on a poor night’s sleep due to an upcoming math test, Daniel ran a strategic race, channeling his energy for a late charge. The deprivation of rest cause him anxiety over the race according to Daniel.

“Before the race, I had a bad feeling because of inadequate sleep last night,” Daniel said. “I think I run better when I have a feeling of certain doom. I went out and ran my best race of the season.”

Daniel’s brother Frank also competed in the race, clocking a time of 21:21. In the 2-mile JV race, freshman Chris Weddington finished in 13:14 to earn 20th place out of 48 athletes, while Josh Hopper and Austin Maddux ran a 13:53 and 13:55 respectively.

In the 3-mile varsity girls race, junior Rachel Wilhelm achieved a personal-record 27:07 for 29th place. Meanwhile sophomores Gigi Thao (26:10) and Dana King (23:26) competed in the JV race.

“I was proud of the entire team today,” head coach Janae Ford said. “I know they will be ready for league championships.

MADERA INVITATIONAL AT EASTMAN LAKE–Oct. 3
Of the entire cross country team, only four athletes, Chris Weddington ’12, Doug Daniel ’10, Ashley Erickson ’12 and Rachel Wilhelm ’11 participated in the 2.7 mi race at Eastman Lake in Madera, Oct. 3.

“People were gone because Dalton got hit by a car, although he’s okay, Frank and Dana had a band event, Josh strained his calf, and Trevor was hurt too,” Daniel said. “The people who ran were still focused, but it hurt the team that people were gone.”

“Everyone got a medal but me,” said Weddington. “But I was running against people with beards.”

“When I entered the race I was starting to get nervous because I hadn’t gotten a medal yet,” Daniel said. “I quickly got to 11th place and just tried to keep it under 20. I managed to hold to 15th (place).”

“When Doug ran I was expecting him to not go all out at the beginning, but he took off,” Weddington said. “He kept the pace for the whole race.”

Daniel not only felt he ran a personally accomplished race, but energized fellow teammates.

“Doug inspired me a lot before the race, telling me Bible verses and encouraging me to warm up with him,” Weddington said. “He reassured me as much as he could before the race. I went harder than I would have if he hadn’t talked to me because I wasn’t really confident running against people who had been running for years. Doug’s encouragement helped me to do my best.”

Overall, 30 athletes competed in the varsity boys race.

“Rachel did a great job at the Madera Meet,” Ford said. “She medaled in the varsity race and got a personal record. She was afraid of running on the dam but she did it anyways and beat her time. She is doing a great job this year running and being a team leader.”

The runners ran up a hill and over a dam for part of the race; then they crossed over to a rangers station and then down a narrow steep path with a rocky path to the finish line.

GOLDEN EAGLE/CLOVIS WEST INVITATIONAL AT WOODWARD PARK–Sept. 25
After a week of preparation running the State/ Valley Championship course at Woodward Park, the Eagles raced in the 5k (3.1 mile) Golden Eagle/ Clovis West Invitational, Sept. 25.

FC was led by senior Doug Daniel, who finished the 3.1 mile course in 20:26, earning 64th place in the varsity race. Sophomore Josh Hopper followed with a 22:01 for 36th in the JV race, while freshman Chris Weddington ran a 24:13 and got 67th in the freshman race.

“I had never run 3 miles before in a race,” Hopper said, “so I didn’t know quite how to do it. I just tried to keep a good pace and didn’t really focus on hunting people down or passing or anything like that.”

Though competing in his first full-length (5k) race, Hopper’s sportsmanship served as a model for all athletes at the race according to head coach Janae Ford.

“I am especially proud of Josh,” Ford said. “He had a great race and ran the entire way, but he also was Jesus to the opposing teams. He stood at the finish line at the end of his race and congratulated the teams coming through the finish. It was really awesome to see God move through this athlete.”

Rounding out the team, junior Frank Daniel completed the run in 24:30 and came in 46th in the JV race, senior Dalton Jones in 25:17 (114th in Varsity race), Freshman Austin Maddox in 25:34 (79th in freshman race), and sophomore Trevor York in 30:42 (106th in the JV race).

In the JV girls race, sophomore Dana King clocked a 42:18, finishing in 63rd, but junior Rachel Wilhelm was unable to complete the race due to passing out during the race. The 103 degree heat, plus the first 3.1 mile race of the year, may contributed to her collapse according to Wilhelm.

“I knew something was wrong since I had run this course many times without any problems,” Wilhelm said. “When I got about 100 meters from the finish line, I began to sprint and the next thing I knew, I was laying on my back looking up at my father and Frank Daniel.”

Hopper has filled the role of FC’s No. 2 runner, behind Daniel, a position previously occupied by Tyler Graham (’09). The first year runner relishes the opportunity to compete with the school’s top racer.

“It pretty cool that I get to compete with Doug at practice,” Hopper said. “Although I didn’t have the best performance at the meet, I felt pretty good about it. I was satisfied with my time, although I want to try to beat it next time.”

Ford expressed optimism for the Eagles’ upcoming meet in Madera.

“This team is an encouragement to me,” Ford said. “They work hard at practice and I know they will do well this saturday. It will be exciting for all of them to be able to run together on Saturday as Varsity runners.”

The Eagles will next compete at the Madera Invitational at Eastman Lake, Chowchilla Day Use Area, Oct. 3.

SANGER INVITATIONAL AT AVOCADO LAKE–Sept. 18
Despite not being in top shape for their meet in Sanger, Sept. 18, their focus was on improvement and next week’s race at Woodward Park.

Senior Doug Daniel completed his first race of the season, and is excited about the 2009 team. Daniel missed the Kingsburg meet because he attended the senior retreat, Sept 12.

“I was excited that students joined cross country who are willing to work hard,” Daniel said. “[Sophomore Josh] Hopper and [freshman] Trevor York have a good work ethic and great attitude. Hopper pushes me in practice because in a short distance he is faster than I am. This team is showing up to run and to win in cross country this year.”

However, Daniel said he felt disappointed with his time, which was approximately 18:39.

“I want to be consistent but did not have a good run,” Daniel said. “I ran decently, but that is not good enough to compete in college. I have to get better.”

Head coach Janae Ford said she was proud of her team regardless of their placing in the event.

“My team ran a good race,” Ford said. “They had to run around the lake and up a few small hills. For their first hilly course, I thought they did well, especially this early in the season.”

In the freshman race, Chris Weddington ran for the second time of his high school career. Ford advised him to follow, stronger runner, Austin Maddux, however Weddington ended up beating Maddux to the finish line.

“I was not confident in the race becasue I was tired in practice this last week,” Weddington said. “But as I passed a lot of people during the race, and as I encouraged them and it seemed to boost me as well.”

At the end of the race, Weddington was behind a group including Maddux and six others. But in a burst of speed, he passed his teammate and all but 2 of the runners in the pack.

“As I was passing Austin, I yelled for him to ‘go faster, we’re almost done,'” Weddington said. “He seemed to pick up his pace, as well, and our surge at the end paid off.”

Weddington finished 31st in the 2-mile race with a time of 14:41, while Maddux finished 34th with a time of 15:05.

The winning time for the freshmen was Nick Corson of Sunnyside High’s 11:05.

Although freshman Ashley Erickson injured her back in conditioning class, she still ran the 2-mile race with her team.

“I am really proud of Ashley,” Ford said. “She hurt her back lifting weights in conditioning, but decided to run the race despite the pain. She amazed me and not only completed the race, but finished in the middle of the pack.”

Erikson said she decided to run partly because she didn’t want to let her team down, and partly to prove to herself that she could still compete.

“At the beginning of the race, I felt pretty good,” Erikson said, “but not even five minutes into it, my back started hurting. It got worse with every step I took. I continuously had to tell myself, ‘I can do this, I can do this, God help me do this!'”

Later in the race Erikson decided to try to find an outside focus to get her mind off the pain, and noticed others were having difficulty too.

“I found someone who was struggling and focused on keeping her going, and stopped worrying about myself,” Erickson said. “This helped to distract me. Near the end of the race, I got a burst of energy that I’m sure was a ‘God thing’ and I was able to push myself ahead of a group of runners and sprint to the finish.”

The Eagle’s next meet is the Golden Eagle Clovis West Invitational at Woodward Park, the California State and Valley Championship course, Sept. 25.

“I want to make this race my strongest one,” Daniel said. “I need to run a smart race. I need to pace myself this week, because I do not want to die part way through.”

Check back later for individual times.

KINGSBURG INVITATIONAL–Sept. 12
In the opening meet of the season, FC took on the challenging course at the Kingsburg Invitational, Sept. 12.

The course consisted of mostly flat terrain and meandered 2 miles. The races were divided by class with 4 races total. The team was without standout Doug Daniel, who went on the senior retreat at Calvin Crest over the weekend.

Sophomore Josh Hopper ran a personal best 12:26 in his first cross country meet, while 3rd-year junior Frank Daniel completed the race in 13:05 and freshman Chris Weddington in 13:36.

Despite sore ankles, sophomore Dana King kept up her pace to complete the race.

King ended up at 22:19, while Rachel Wilhelm finished in 17:36 to round out the team. The team did not place anyone in the top 20, thus did not qualify for any medals.

“I am very proud of all of the athletes,” head coach Janae Ford said. “However Dana stood out to me the most. She’s an inspiration because she is one of the most dedicated athletes on the team, and always does what she’s asked with no complaints.”