By Janelle Pantilon, Staff Writer
On September 9, 2023, Mills cross country attended the annual Lowell Invitational cross country meet held in Golden Gate Park, celebrating its 50th anniversary. Roughly 80+ schools all across Northern California came to bring the speed and competition. The Mills team had a commendable performance, with several runners across its divisions placing within or near the top ten finishers.
Time leading up to this day was a whirlwind of emotions for both the runners and coaches. The team is larger than it has been in previous years, causing lots of anticipation for the start to the season. Especially amongst the girls team due to this year being able to have both a varsity and junior varsity team.
There were a number of accomplishments within the meet. Late morning, Kaden Ren (10), placed second in his sophomore boys heat, running 2.03 miles in only 11:17.90. When asked to describe the thoughts and strategies hovering his mind while racing, Ren recounted that his goal was to “just try to stick within the top ten group of runners through the entirety of the race, from beginning, middle, to end.”
Later on, Jackie Pan (12), medalled, placing seventh overall in the varsity girls division clocking in at 17:01.80 for a 2.78 mile trail. Similarly asked, her strategy while she runs is to “focus on the race, the amount of distance I’ve completed, and finally the opponents around me.” She has dedicated herself to the team for the past three years of her high school journey. The jitters before a race are no joke however from experience: “I still get nervous stepping onto the line, however because I’ve done this so many times, it’s gotten more manageable. Once the gun goes off, you just have to keep going.” Another success of the day was the varsity girls placing eighth as an overall team from a total of twenty-five schools.
This course is primarily a dirt path with accents of grass and asphalt, a slightly easier run in comparison to the additional trails the team will run throughout the fall season. They generally have dirt-filled terrain with grueling hills. Mileage this past race was 2.03 miles for the freshman and sophomore teams and 2.78 miles for all of varsity. The events began early morning for the freshman boys, following frosh/soph girls, the sophomore boys, then open boys and girls races, varsity girls, and finally varsity boys. The Lowell Invitational was a long yet rewarding day for not only Mills but various schools across California.
Overall, the entirety of the team did exceptionally well. While rather nervous for the following meet held in Crystal Springs Belmont on Saturday, September 16, 2023, there were even more successes. Runners ranked higher and both the freshman boys and sophomore girls won their races. The team hopes to bring even better energy throughout the season. It’s only the start to a long one but the cross country team is excited to see where the next few months lead.
Coach Lawrence Cappel’s goal is to bring his teams to the 2023 CIF State Cross Country Championships held in Fresno, California. With the drive, determination, and hard work applied from his athletes, this is absolutely possible. We wish the cross country team luck. Go Vikings!
