The St. Helena High cross country team felt the heat last Wednesday in a Coastal Mountain Conference meet at Sonoma Academy on a warm afternoon.

As a team, the Saints boys and girls lost to Santa Rosa Christian 48-15 and 47-16 respectively.

St. Helena head coach Janet Todd and assistant Wayne Cooper, however, came away pleased that many Saints posted personal best times.

St. Helena’s Madeline Oliver finished first among Saints runners and fifth out of 23 overall in 20.31 minutes, good for a new personal best time of 8.06 minutes per mile.

“Maddie showed that her training is paying off by running another strong and consistent race,” Todd said.

Jackie Wyard-Yates was the next Saints runner to finish, taking ninth place with a new course personal best.

She was closely followed by teammate Nancy Hernandez with another personal best in 10th place.

Alison Greer ran for the first time this season and was able to come in 12th place with “a strong performance.”

Cristy Avina also achieved a personal best by finishing 13th. Other Saints runners were Lexi Barrett, Emily Griffin, Gemma Aquilina, Adriana Avalos, Sandra Cortes, Erin Wagner, Rita Ortega and Cynthia Ortiz.

The Saints’ top runner, Lizzie Poisson, was not able to finish the race due to an asthma attack, according to Todd.

The Saints boys team competed against a really fast and seasoned Santa Rosa Christian team.

However, all five of the Saints runners hit a personal best time on the course. 

Grant Jeffcoat was the Saints’ top finisher in sixth place with a time of 16.52 — or a 6.36 pace — despite some muscular cramping during the run.

Austin Heckler, James Ray and Lucas Immer sprinted in “like they were on fire” with new personal best efforts.

Todd said the race was Mitchell Aiken’s best, with a major decrease in his minutes-per-mile time for a new season personal best.

“It was good for our young team to experience a big and competitive race so they can get a perspective on what is achievable with continued training and focus,” Todd said.

Print this story   |   Email this story | Browse today's articles in this category: | Next