Cross country team enters new season
By Hector Trujillo
The Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS) cross country team hopes to have another successful season as it kicks off the 2023 competition calendar on Saturday, Aug. 26 at the Bronco Roundup Invitational which will be held at Kit Carson Park in Escondido.
That event, which will have medals given out to the first 35 finishers in each race, will be the first of 10 that SRHS is scheduled to take part in before Western League Championships take place on Oct. 31.
The first official practice in preparation for the season took place on Aug. 7 and has continued every morning until the first day of school.
“During the summer we have a running club that’s not affiliated with the school,” said SRHS cross country coach Chuck Warren.
Per CIF guidelines, coaches were not allowed to be in contact with their respective teams for the first two weeks of the summer in order to provide a balance for students and their families with athletics.
“I think we’re going to be really strong, both boys and girls, because we have a lot of returning runners,” Warren said. “We also have a lot of new runners that are freshmen and sophomores who have not competed before but are very talented.”
Among the female returners are Addy Richardson, who broke the school record in the 1,600 meters last spring with a 5:02 mark. Ally Van Duren, Michelle Cai, Tayler Warner and Sadie Keegan will also be back, all of whom helped lead their team to the 2022 Division 2 San Diego Section CIF Championship, the first for the Lady Falcons since 1997.
As for the mens team, seniors Oliver Cannon, who competed in the state meet individually last season; top-20 finisher in CIF Ethan Tran; and Jacob Walker will return along with sophomore Nathan Bamford who had an impressive season as a freshman.
“The Bronco Invitational is one of the biggest ones in the county,” Warren said. “We’ve never done it before. Most of the best teams in San Diego compete in that meet.”
2023 SRHS schedule
Aug. 26, Bronco Roundup
Sept. 8, Ian Cumming/Tim Latham Invitational
Sept. 16, Mt. Carmel/ASICS XC Invitational
Sept. 26, Western League Cluster Meet #1
Oct. 3, Western League Cluster Meet #2
Oct. 10, Western League Cluster Meet #3
Oct. 20, Jaguar Kit Carson Invitational
Oct. 20-21, 75th Annual Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational
Oct. 24, Western League Cluster Meet #4
Oct. 28, Postal 2 Mile
Oct. 31, Western League Championships
Nov. 11, CIF Championships
Nov. 25, CIF State Cross Country Championships