Selma High’s cross country team continues their season with perseverance as the small squad celebrates a multitude of personal records.
The team has been working hard to improve their individual times. Practices include intense workouts and, due to the recent heat wave, the team adjusted by working out later in the evening, before returning to their usual practices after school.
Coach Octavio Gonzalez, referred to as Coach G, explains that each practice includes a half-mile warm-up, followed by stretching. The athletes’ workouts vary depending on the day. Such as running anywhere between two to five miles, intervals, which are running segments followed by short recovery periods, plyometrics, which are short and powerful movements that improve runners’ strength, agility, and coordination, and lastly, hills. Running hills is an essential part of a cross country runner’s workout because not only does it improve endurance, but it mentally prepares the runner for any hills they may face in meets, demonstrating both the athleticism and technical strategy required in the sport.
Coach G further explains practices which are specifically used before a meet day.
“We like to have a recovery a day,” Gonzalez says, “so we would jog at least two miles and do cardio circuits after, which consists of two sets of one minute planks, 25 sit-ups, air squats, and calf raises.”
These demanding workouts push Selma High’s athletes to become not only physically, but mentally strong. Senior Paola Saavedra Perez went on to elaborate these aspects.
“Joining XC is for sure a mental thing,” she says. “You have to motivate yourself a lot but everyone on the team is super close so it’s good having everyone motivate each other and just push through it.”
The team is further motivated by the determination to improve their times.
“A personal goal for the season is to PR a 23-minute 5k,” shared Senior, Aaron Valenzuela.
During the Inaugural Porterville Invitational, Valenzuela improved his season 5k record by 3 minutes and 5 seconds, resulting in a time of 24:24, bringing him one step closer to his overall goal.
Coach G, as well as other coaches from the competing schools, were given the unique opportunity to race in a community 5k that took place after the Invitational. This was Coach G’s first race after 3 years, but his legacy remains intact as he claimed 1st place with a time of 19:12
“It was exciting to get back into running [competitively] but also nerve wracking.”
For many of the cross country runners, their dedication to running not only helps them in cross country but prepares them for track that will take place in the spring.
Sophomore, Hector Gonzalez shares more on the mentality of the sport.
“They are both mentally hard because in Cross Country you have to focus on not stopping and continue to finish and track you have to beat the other person in front of you.”
Despite the sport being an uphill battle (literally, at times) the team’s bond has pushed the team to never give up, resulting in their growth.
