The MacArthur Cross Country team placed second overall at the meet on Wednesday, October 1, at McFadden Intermediate School. At the meet, Mendez Fundamental Intermediate took the first-place championship. MacArthur had 16 runners placed in the top ten.

“Mendez had faster runners than us this year,” said Coach Mr. Pat Evans. “I felt sad because I like winning. One student who stood out was seventh grader Alexa A., who won first place for seventh-grade girls.”

Tryouts started the second week of school. About 100 students tried out for the team; in the end, 54 students made it on the team. The cross country season was from August 18  to October 1. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays the team would practice from 2:30 to 4:00 PM. 

To prepare for the meet, seventh grader Alexa A. said, “I ran four laps around my neighborhood.” Alexa A. got first place overall for the seventh-grade girls division. “I felt tired but proud of myself because I got first place. I’ll remember the victory of this race.”

According to Evans, in order to be successful in cross country, runners have to be dedicated and mentally tough, and there were lots of runners on the team who met this criteria. The length for sixth-grade runners was one mile, seventh graders ran one and a half miles, and eighth graders ran two miles. The difference between intermediate cross country runners and high school runners is that Intermediate schools run shorter distances.

Seventh-grader Alex R. placed seventh in the seventh-grade boys division overall. To get ready for this meet, Alex R, stated, “I stretched before my meet. After the race, I felt good but tired.” 

Last year, MacArthur’s Cross Country placed first place overall in the Santa Ana Unified School District.