San Marcos cross country began its season at the Cool Breeze Invitational on Saturday, with the varsity girls team leading the charge and capturing first place at the Pomona Fairplex.
The Royal girls turned in a strong all-around showing, led by a third-place individual finish by Elsie Tuttle, who crossed the finish line in 18:40.
She was followed by teammates Autumn Richardson (19:20, 10th), Layla Llewellyn (19:21, 11th), Samara Shalhoub (19:48, 21st) and Jane Demmin (20:17, 36th).
“This was a great first race of the year for these girls,” San Marcos head coach Marilyn Hantgin said. “Almost every girl on the team ran a personal best today. They have put in the work all summer and it has shown in their performance today.
“I love the support they have for each other and their ability to compete with each other as well.”
The sophomore boys team won their division thanks to solid showings from Audriv Halberg, Walker Gregorio, Brogan Hempfill, Cesar Gutierrez and Nate Daughters.
“Having a young group of guys is such a blessing,” Hantgin said. “They have been a part of a team with a lot of seniors and now they are the future. This was super fun for them to compete together and win as a team.”
Individually, Wyatt Degner ran his first race as a senior and clocked a time of 16:17, Daniel Vogel crossed the finish line in 16:49 and Maya D’Amour placed second in the girls freshman race at 21:47.