The Fountain Hills High School cross country team traveled to San Diego, Calif., for the Coach Downey Classic Friday, Sept. 29.

Senior Skye Alker had another top 10 finish, senior Caleb Lara and sophomore Colby Wright finished under 19 minutes, and the Falcons spent a day at Disneyland and a morning at the beach before heading home.

Alker medaled once again in seventh place (20:39.0), and fellow senior Erin Hooley (22:21.4) came in 24th (22:21.4). Sophomore Allison Guerrette finished in 33rd place (22:43.2) with a new personal record (PR) to help the girls team place fifth out of 16 teams.

Junior Racine Homyak (24:26.6) set a PR and placed 62nd. Senior Eliana Bartman (27:09.5) finished 98th and improved on a PR set as a sophomore. Bartman was nearly two minutes faster than her previous season record. 

Wright also had a top-50 finish, placing 48th (18:39.0). It was his first official 5k under 19 minutes, and Lara (18:54.7) came in 59th with his second sub-19 race. Sophomore Aiden Rollins finished just outside the mark (19:00.8) and placed 62nd.

The boys team finished 13th out of 22 teams behind three more personal records. Junior Yahshua Harris (19:37.3), senior Dylan Romans (19:40.9) and senior William Breen (21:44.9) finished 87th, 90th and 137th, respectively.

“Yahshua had the race of the day running a 19:37, a 28 second PR,” head coach Andrea Hall said. “Every single race, he races smart and hard. Kevin Clancy and I saw so much potential in Yahshua during track season…. Allison ran her first 22-minute 5k. I was very proud of her race and seeing her move to the next level.”

The Falcons have improved all season long and are less than a month away from their chance to qualify for the state championships at the Division III Metro Sectionals Thursday, Oct. 26. Up next, the Falcons race in the Epic Tourneys XC Invite at Crossroads Park in Gilbert Friday, Oct. 13.