Cross country heads to South region championship this weekend

The Saints men’s and women’s cross country teams gave their best effort in the Lewis & Clark Invitational on Oct. 19 and came out with momentum for their hardest meet yet, coming this weekend: the Southern Region Championships.

In the women’s 6K, held at McIver State Park outside Estacada, Mt. Hood finished 12th with an average team time of 26:07.

Freshman Emily Trosino led the way, placing 52nd.. Her time of 24:08 was one her best of the season.

The men’s team battled its way to ninth place in the 8K run with an average time of 27:38, an exact match of their performance at their previous meet Oct. 12 in Clackamas.

“Overall, we were happy with the efforts the men and women put forth,” said Matt Hart, MHCC head coach.

As in prior meets, freshman Brandon Raleigh put the men’s team on his shoulders, leading them with a time of 27:14 and placing 56th overall. Right next to him this time was freshman Auston Burns who placed 58th with a time of 27:18, improving his time by nearly a full minute from the Clackamas meet one week earlier.

“I think we picked up this week where we left off last week, which is to say many of our runners are running worry-free,” said Hart.

The Southern Region Championships will be held Saturday at Clackamas Community College on a course the Saints ran on just recently, which might give them a slight boost.

Mt. Hood will go against five other schools and hopes to finish in a good spot as the squad prepares for the last meet of the year on Nov. 9, the NWAACC Championships in Battle Ground, Wash.

Hart said tomorrow’s race at Clackamas won’t be easy, but has faith both teams will do well.

“We have been preparing all season for both of our championships, we have been gaining fitness and experience while increasing our confidence,” he said. “I am confident that there will be positive energy going into our next meeting.”