The Fountain Hills High School Cross Country team continues to improve as all 10 runners had season best times in the Chandler Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 2.

Six Falcons set new personal best 5000m times, and two Falcons medaled in the second meet of the year.

The runners were separated by grade level at the Chandler Invitational, but the Falcons took advantage of that to cheer on their teammates in other races.

“This team really supports each other and is very aware of how each other is doing,” head coach Andrea Hall said. “Coming in, I knew I had a great team and each week they prove me right.”

Less than a week after taking seventh place in the opening race, senior Skye Alker (20:37.3) earned another medal and set a new personal record (PR). Her previous record was 21:16.9, and sophomore Alli Guerrette (23:03.8) also medaled and set a new PR. Guerrette’s previous best was 24:30.8.

The other girls ran their season best times. Senior Erin Hooley (23:17.5) cut almost a minute from her season opening time, and junior Racine Homyak (24:57.8) shaved a minute and 40 seconds off her last performance. Senior Eliana Bartman (30:58.4) dropped over two minutes from her last race.

First-year runners sophomore Aiden Rollins and junior Yahshua Harris continued to impress Hall in their second meet. Harris (20:57.9) improved from his first time, 22:24.1, and Rollins (20:06.9) dropped over four minutes from his first race, 24:27.9.

“I knew on the first day of practice that we were lucky to have Aiden on our team,” Hall said. “He’s a great kid and I’m excited to see what he can do as the season progresses. Yahshua Harris earned his PR with a race full of heart. He never let up and I’m really proud of his race.”

Senior William Breen (23:28.9) had another solid outing and set a new season best. Senior Caleb Lara and sophomore Colby Wright would have had a photo finish if they were in the same race, because they finished at the exact same time.

Lara and Wright both set new records in the opening meet, and they improved on them already. Lara went from 19:51.4 to 19:18.0, and Wright dropped from 19:36.5 to 19:18.0. The next opportunity for the Falcons to improve will be in their own backyard, when they host 90 teams at Fountain Park.

Fountain Hills is hosting the Fountain Hills Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 9. Student races begin at 7 a.m. Awards will be presented starting at 9:45 a.m.