It was a big week for the cross country team as the JV runners put together a good showing at a Pinnacle High School event, followed by a massive weekend run at the Woodbridge Classic in Costa Mesa, Calif., as 12 Falcons went on to claim medals.

“We had a great week overall,” said head coach Chris Davis.

“I was really proud of our kids and what they were able to accomplish.”

This weekend the Falcons are set to continue their season at the Doug Conley Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 28. Another invitational expected to draw teams from all over the state, the meet is set to kick off at 8 a.m., hosted out of the Rolling Hills golf course in Tempe.

Pinnacle

Before the Falcons hit the road to California over the weekend, the team first had to take on a four-team meet hosted out of Pinnacle High School.

“Varsity didn’t run in this meet because we wanted to keep them fresh for the run on Friday,” said Davis.

“But our younger runners did real well at Pinnacle. This was a good run for everyone, with some of the kids even getting their personal records.”

Emmie Lawrence got things going for the Lady Falcons with a team-leading 10th place finish at 24:32.

Second for the girls was Taylor Johnson at 25:08, followed by Madi Blaes at 26:12.

Kelsey Schultz crossed the finish line at 28:11 while Alex Griggs brought in the team’s final scoring time of 31:27.

All told, the Falcons brought in 61 team points, good enough for second place overall. Host Pinnacle High School stole the show with 15 points in first place, with Camelback High School taking third hot on the heels of the Falcons at 64.

The boys only had four runners hit the course at Pinnacle, and so were unable to place as a team.

Three Falcons finished in a flock in the 31-33 range with Tiger Elwood, Joe Ahman and Cody Walter claiming times of 25:04, 25:06 and 25:09 respectively. Fourth for the Falcons was Jason Sahr at 29:15.

Woodbridge

On Friday, Sept. 20, the Falcons joined an estimated 13,000 athletes from 180 schools to take part in the 33rd annual Woodbridge Classic hosted out of Estancia High School in Costa Mesa, Calif.

This year, the Falcons sent 29 athletes to compete in the meet with a whopping 12 bringing back medals.

Races were held in class-based divisions, with those divisions broken down even further to accommodate all of this year’s participants. The biggest meet of the season for the Falcons, the Woodbridge Invitational actually spans two evenings, though the Fountain Hills squad was officially finished after its runs on Friday.

After taking first place as a freshman, Sierra Jarriel returned to go 2-2 as a sophomore in the girls’ events, taking first place overall for her class at 18:30.

Erika Yost claimed fourth for the freshmen at 19:21 with sister Brooke Yost taking sixth in the JV run at 19:32.

Hope Brecto finished in 25th for the freshmen girls at 20:35 with Taylor Johnson coming in at 21:26 in the JV run.

Danika Kerr and Kailee Martin both did well in the freshman event, crossing the finish line with times of 21:41 and 22:01 respectively.

Courtney Wise finished at 22:13 for the freshmen.

Other runners included Emmie Lawrence at 22:17, Kelsey Schultz at 23:27, Elizabeth Smout at 26:42, Alex Griggs at 27:28, Marie Olson at 28:28, Sophie Gaardsmoe at 32:28 and Sydney Chesser at 33:08.

Over to the boys and Scott Jarriel was the top finisher for the Falcons, taking fourth place for the seniors at 15:59.

Garrett Sweetland took 30th for the seniors at 16:52 with Hayden Brecto claiming 28th for the juniors at 17:02.

Evan Cain crossed the finish line at 17:40 with Andrew Cooper finishing at 18:34.

Ryder Worden, Joe Ahmann and Cody Walter finished at 19:06, 19:25 and 20:03 respectively.

Jordan Smout finished at 20:34, followed by Kolt Brewster at 21:55, Jake M. at 22:01, Cole McAuliff at 22:04 and Jason Sahr at 27:19.

Davis said his advice before the meet was simple: Don’t get caught in the pack going out, get out quickly and set your pace so you don’t get bumped around.

“If you get caught up in the mix early on, getting knocked around like that, it can really tire you out and mess up your pace,” Davis said.

“And then we finished with 12 medals. That was overwhelming. We only had one last year, so it was great to see so many kids do so well.”

Davis said that times once again took a dip, which is good to see at about the midway point of the season.

“We’re thankful to our principal and the School Board for supporting us in this trip,” Davis added.

“Our kids did real well and they’re happy with their performances. That should be a big confidence boost in the coming weeks.”