The Irish Cross Country team had a wildly successful meet at WCAL #1 at the Polo Fields, on Wednesday, September 25.

SHC had three teams take second place – the Varsity Girls, the JV Girls, and the JV Boys. This marks the first time ever, the Irish have had such high placement at the same WCAL meet.

JoJo Gregg '27 and Alex Martinez '25 led the Varsity Girls in 7th and 10th place. SHC trailed state-ranked St. Francis but easily beat out Mitty by 24 points for 2nd.

Isabel Merriman '26 and Maria Herrmann '25 both had top 10 finishes to pace the JV Girls, who also trailed St. Francis but edged out Mitty and Presentation in what was a tight battle for 2nd place.

The JV Boys did not have any top 10 finishers but a tight pack of five runners all ran between 17:10 and 17:33. That tight pack ensured 2nd place for the Irish, behind the powerhouse Bellarmine squad but ahead of all other WCAL rivals.

Miles Cook '25 was dominant in winning the Varsity Boys race in 14:49,  nineteen seconds ahead of 2nd place. Cam Gregg '25 moved up from the middle of the pack at the 1 mile mark all the way to 5th place. Overall the Irish Varsity Boys placed 5th.

Other top 10 finishes for the Irish were freshmen Julien Siou '28 (8th in the Frosh Boys race) and Mavis Slagle '28 (10th in the F/S Girls race).

"We competed very well," said SHC Head Coach Andy Chan, "Seventy percent of our team placed in the top 50% of their race and many runners ran race pace personal records. This is a great place to be for the end of September."

The Irish are back in action on October 5 at the Pacific Grove Invitational.  After the PG Invitational, the team will race on October 11 in the Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno, the site of the CIF Cross Country State Championships, where both SHC girls and boys Cross Country teams competed in 2023.  Good luck, XC!  GO IRISH!!