Lady Pirate Sienna Rose placed 56th out of 145 runners at last weekend’s 3A state cross-country championships — her highest finish in her three years of qualifying for the season’s final meet.
The senior ran a time of 21 minutes, 21.18 seconds.
Coach Rachael Christiansen notes in the team’s newsletter that, while Rose didn’t set a new personal record, “she was strong the entire race and 56th is her highest placement at State over the 3 years of her attending.”
She adds, “It was a good trip and we are so proud of her for qualifying for State, especially in our very tough region. She earned her place on that starting line and she was able to enjoy her last HS XC race. (Although, she already has other races lined up in the next few weeks!).”
Christiansen indicates in an email to The SUN that, while the season had ups and downs, it was a successful one.
“Looking back over the season I’d say overall it was a success. Every season is full of its ups and downs, and we certainly experienced those throughout the season, however, it all really did start to come together at the end,” she wrote. “In Monte Vista, our last regular season race, we saw almost every runner earn a new PR! It is great to see the work put in and the patience really start to pay off, especially in one of our last races.”
Christiansen also notes the growth across the teams this season.
“This year we saw some pretty significant growth from quite a few athletes and saw a few hit some big breakthroughs,” she states.
Of the boys’ squad, she highlights, “We had Connor Thomas break the 19 minute mark for the first time ever at the Monte Vista race and then he did it again at the Regionals meet. Then, we had Dylan Dempster, Merrick Tudor, and Eli Nehring break the 20 minute mark for the first time ever at Monte Vista as well. These 4 will all be returning next year and with the strength of the incoming freshman, I believe we will have a very strong boys team.”
The girls’ squad also had some big breakthrough, according to the coach.
“Adi Johnson joined us this season as a junior and had a big impact on our scoring. She was 2nd on our team at regionals and broke the 23 minute mark at Monte Vista,” Christiansen wrote. “Kaiya Lyons is only 2 seconds off breaking 22 minutes and had some very strong races. Madi Stretton broke the 23 minute mark by 16 seconds at Regionals. These two will be returning as juniors next year and will have our current freshman Bella Jackson, Mila Miller, and Vivy DavRem, all who ran some quality races this season. We’re hoping to add a few more girls to the roster and come back with a solid 7 running.”
The team will say goodbye to four seniors from this year’s team, with Christiansen noting all four “contributed greatly to the team.”
Jesse Beck, she notes, “has been a leader on the team since day one. He has been voted as ‘Best Teammate’ by his peers multiple years in a row and his dedication to his team will be missed.”
Peyton Jackson, she states, ran two years with the team, but left his mark.
“He has shown what it takes to bounce back from injury. He has also shown us that the love for our sport is powerful,” the coach wrote.
Hailey Sams, according to Christiansen, ran with the team for three years and “always brought a sense of fun and laughter to the team. She was pivotal in bringing both the boys’ and the girls’ together and helped create our team community.”
Rose, she notes, ran with the team four years and qualified for state three years.
“She has shown dedication to our sport and has been the best example that consistency with running leads to great success,” Christiansen noted.
The coach adds that while all four seniors will be missed greatly, the team is “excited to see the next group step up and embrace being our leaders.”
randi@pagosasun.com
