On Nov. 27, Glen A. Wilson HS boy’s varsity Cross Country team placed 16th at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Championships in Fresno, CA.
The Wildcats were represented by nine runners at the State Championships, including Gio Gudiel (12), Aldrich Gwynne (12), Jake Xie (12), Victor Espinosa (12), Caleb Quinia (12), Isidro Peña (11), Matthew Alfonso (10), Yuu Duffy (10) and Bryan Ramos (10).
Head Coach Mike Gomez commends the team for all the effort they put into the season.
“I was really happy with their performance. The boys rose up to the occasion,” Gomez said. “They really believed in the process, listening to the coaches, staying humble and working hard. I think that was really the secret to their success.”
Gomez also touches on some of the hard work that went into qualifying for the State Championships in the first place.
“Us coaches sat down with the athletes about what they had to do. And they did it; the boys responded beautifully,” Gomez said. “They made the adjustments [that they needed to], and they qualified. At the prelims, we took fourth, which qualified us for the CIF prelims. In the finals, the top seven final teams go on to the CIF State Championships, and we took sixth. Perfect! They ran a really great race against some really, really intense schools… Again, the boys rose up to the occasion.”
Yuu Duffy, one of the boy’s varsity runners, expands on how he felt before the race.
“I was feeling nervous leading up to the race, as it was our first state meet, and I knew I was going to be running against the best in California,” Duffy said. “[But] my favorite part of CIF was just being able to do what I love with the team I enjoy being a part of.
The CIF State Championships was the last race of the boys’ 2021-22 Cross Country season.
