Although the Seaside Invitational in Ventura offered devastatingly cold breezes and a horrible windy atmosphere, West High’s Cross Country team successfully pulled through in its first race of the season. After a summer of intense running in scorching heat, West High’s Cross Country runners were able to endure the cold surrounding that encompassed them. The first race showed new runners the importance of practicing with effort and commitment. Coach Green emphasized this point by stating, “summer training was good for some and others were not as committed as they should have been.  The committed athletes ran well at Seaside and the others now understand how important the summer training is.” Taylor Uyama (11), who is in his second year of the sport, was able to finish the 3.1 mile race in 63^rd place with a solid time of 17:24. Uyama stated, “Seaside Invitational in Ventura was cold and windy. I knew I was going to get a medal because I was determined and since there were school budget cuts, there are fewer runners”

   Although there were not as many runners, West High’s Cross Country team proved that it could still compete at an elite level. The Junior Cross Country runners consistently set a strong standard for their fellow competitors: of the eight juniors that raced five of them (Spencer Shortland, David Yuan, Cody Beltran, Drew Griffie, and Uyama) placed in the top 65. Even more impressive, of those five runners Taylor’s already quick speed of 17:24 was the slowest. Varsity runner Drew Griffie, who had the second fastest time for West of 16:41, expressed his optimism for even greater results: “the race was really windy so I didn’t do my best.” Even in the face of adversity West High was able to show its endurance and is now looking forward to unleashing its true potential in the upcoming bay league meets. With Cross Country’s great performance in cold weather West High has shown that things are simply “heating up.”