The MacArthur Cross Country Team won the championship for the fourth year in a row at the October 2 meet, which was held at Thornton Park, next to McFadden Intermediate School. The team had 19 runners place in the top ten for their groups, earning the most points among competing schools.

“This team trained really hard, and they delivered in the finals,” said head coach Mr. Patrick Evans. “Our sixth graders did really well. For the boys, we had seven boys run and six got medals.” 

Julian C., sixth grader, won first place for his division with a time of 6:00.82, as well as Vitor M., an eighth-grade boy who finished with a time of 11:30.25 for his group.  Sixth-graders ran one mile, seventh-graders ran a mile and a half, and eighth-graders ran two miles. 

Eighth-grader Rozalyn M. placed fourth out of the 44 eighth-grade girls for a 2-mile run with a time of 13:48.37. Other top 10 finishers from Macarthur included Yaretzi V. with a time of 14:33.28 and Shareny R. finished with a 14:51.45.

“I think the training was worth the outcome,” said Rozalyn, “However, I could have done better.” To prepare for this win Rozalyn said, “I showed up to practice and ran outside of school also.”  

Evans held practice on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 2:30 PM to 4 PM. The season lasted from August 22-October 2, when the final race took place at Thornton Park.

Tryouts were on August 22 after school in Lillie King Park.  According to Evans, about 90-100 students tried out but only 47 students made the cut. To compare, the number of students trying out this year was just about the same as last year.

Eighth-grader Isabella B. completed the two-mile run with a time of 14:53.65 said, “Running isn’t that bad.  Don’t give up!”

The previous MacArthur Cross Country team had almost the same race statistics as this year’s team.  Because of the team’s continued success, Principal Mr. Ray Gonzales often refers to the team as the “Legendary Cross Country Team.”