The boys and girls cross country teams traveled to Irvine to compete in the 45th Annual Woodbridge Cross Country Classic on Friday night. Woodbridge is the largest high school cross country meet in the world, hosting over 19,000 runners, with more than 650 teams representing 19 states.
Despite the unique challenges posed by the long commute to the race and the meet’s high volume of runners, the Bears pulled through with impressive times in both the boys and girls races.
The boys team dominated the three-mile course, competing against over 250 runners. Senior Evan Chopra ran an outstanding race with his time of 14:12.9 putting him in first place. Although he chose to pace himself near the back at the beginning, his consistent mile splits allowed him to move up in the pack as the race progressed.
“On this course and especially in the faster divisions, people go out really hard at the start, at a pace that isn’t really sustainable,” Chopra said. “If you want to be smart about pacing, you can’t go out to the front immediately, which means you’re crammed in with hundreds of other runners and pretty far back until the race thins out.”
Senior Calvin Blanford followed with a time of 14:46.4, bringing him to an exceptional 37th place. Closely behind Blanford came senior Benjamin Salceda and sophomore Agustin Araya, succeeded by seniors Martin Stoyanov, Grant Bennitt, and Oscar Wettermark.
Overall, the boys team showcased remarkable success in their race, placing second out of the 36 competing teams.
“I think we still have a way to go before we reach our peak,” Chopra said. “We definitely have a chance to put some big records in the books.”
The girls team was led by junior Caroline Pflaum, who finished in 16th place with a stellar time of 17:02.6.
“I’ve been really excited about the direction the team is going in,” Pflaum said. “Woodbridge just proved how strong we are as a whole.”
Sophomore Mia Smith also delivered an excellent performance, placing 58th with a time of 17:48.6. Senior Laura Maravilla and sophomore Chloe Lai finished next, followed by junior Alli Brottem and sophomores Julia Piper and Sonya Glebov. The girls team secured 16th place overall.
Maravilla expressed satisfaction with her pacing throughout the race. “In past years, I would go out fast and be unable to maintain the pace through the last mile,” she said. “This year, I am happy that I was able to negatively split my race and have my last mile be my fastest mile.”
“[We have] put in the work during the offseason and built a strong base,” Maravilla said. “I am excited to spend my last season of cross country with this team and can’t wait to see what we will be able to do.”
The Bears will compete next at Crystal Springs on Wednesday, October 7 at 3 p.m.
