On Saturday, September 2nd, 2017, Somerset Academy Canyons (SAC) competed in their second cross country event this year at South County Park. Somerset fared well against the other schools, considering how young our runners are compared to the others. There were four races: one for Varsity boys, one for Varsity girls, one for junior varsity (JV) boys, and one for JV girls. There were a total of 41 racers at the event from Somerset, and the races started at 7:00 A.M, ending at about 10:00 A.M.

We interviewed Mrs. Oquendo and got the following responses.
Q: “How often and how long do the runners run?”
A: “They run from 3:00 to 4:45 every day except for Sunday, which is a rest day.”

Q: “Why do you think people run in cross country?”
A: “It makes them feel good that they could improve themselves. It’s also a stress reliever and it lets them focus on themselves.”

Q: “How long is each race and how many are there?”
A: “They are two miles for middle school and three miles long for high school. It starts in August and ends in October for high school.”

Q: “What are the important parts of running in cross country?”
A: “Breathing and learning techniques of how to get more air are some of the important parts of running in cross country.”

Q: “How do you think out runners did?”
A: “I think everyone did their best and beat their PB.” (Personal Record)
Even though cross country and track sound like they are very similar, they are two completely different things. One of the differences between the two sports is that cross country has their meets anywhere in grass while track is only on a track. Cross country races are longer than track races. Cross country meets are only four races while track has many more. Track has hurdles and the long jump while cross country doesn’t. Cross country has more runners in each race than track does. The only main similarity between the two is that they both are running sports. Do not confuse cross country with track, they are completely different.
SAC did really well at the cross country meet, the students who finished first in each race were, Sebastian Gerber, Sarah Lentz, Taylor Johnson, and Daniella Samigiem.

Q: “How do you think you did after the race compared to any other time if any?”

These were the runners’ responses:
“Excellent, but I possibly could do better,” Sebastian Gerber said, who ran in the Varsity boys race and ended with a time of 20 minutes and 35 seconds.
“I think I did really well and beat my PB,” Sarah Lentz said, who ran in the Varsity girls race and ended with a time of 24 minutes and 50 seconds.
“I think I could have done better and I think I should have pushed myself more in the first mile,” Taylor Johnson said, who ran in the JV boys race and ended with a time of 25 minutes and 14 seconds.
“I think I did good, but I could have done better,” Daniella Samigiem said, who ran in the JV girls race and ended with a time of 28 minutes and 8 seconds.”

All of our runners did amazing and represented Somerset Academy Canyons well at their second cross country meet.