Los Angeles, CA — The Valencia Vikings Cross Country team hit the challenging terrain of Griffith Park in the Bell Jeff Invitational this past weekend. The course started in the Merry-Go-Round area of the park and threw numerous challenges at the competitors as they toured above and through the old Zoo of Griffith Park. Thick grass with gopher holes challenged runners at the start and finish areas while plentiful hills, uneven asphalt, and poor footing challenged runners through the entire course. Cool weather temperatures made for ideal racing temperatures and the forecast rain held off for most of the event before letting loose on the Vikings final race. With an early start on the day, the Frosh/Soph boys had a hurried warm-up before settling on the line for the challenges ahead. The large field and twisting first quarter mile had our team hung up in the pack, but Luke Rezkallah emerged after the first long hill to lead the Vikings and finish at 19:37 in 14th place. Not far behind was a pack of Vikings with Hudson Lee (17th, 19:53), Joshiah Lee (25th, 20:03), Owen St. Clair (30th, 20:07) working as a team and pushing each other through the challenges of the course. Miles Frizado was the final scorer for the young Vikes in 38th with a 20:22, an impressive effort after taking a spill earlier in the race. Overall the team finished fourth in the field! This tough bunch shows amazing potential as this entire crew is new runners with only a few XC races in their legs. With a month left to gain fitness before league finals, all of the Frosh/Soph boys will be looking for major gains to finish out the season. The JV girls were the second race of the day for the Vikings, with threats of rain at any moment, five Vikings donned their bright yellow race tops at the starting line. These ladies had to fight their way up what seemed to be a never ending climb in the first mile, only to be met with more hills in the second mile. Some relief came as the 3rd mile was mostly downhill to the finish. Macy Redin ran very strong as the first Viking across the line and 13th overall, using her speed on that downhill finish. Second Viking, Sam Armitage, still building her aerobic capacity ran incredibly smart and was 22nd overall. Sophie Tran was the third Viking and found herself in the top half of the racers with a speedy surge to the finish line. Gracie Brook, who has been battling injuries for a few weeks, competed in the hilly conditions and was 4th for the Vikings. Emily Stimac showed her continued improvement and grit conquering this brutal course as the 5th Viking of the day. The Varsity Viking Boys had a battle ahead with a majority of the squad running Varsity for the first time this season. With a controlled and even race, Adam Sandoval was the first Viking across the line at 17:46 in 42nd place. Nehemiah Pop was loving the downhill finish he was making up time and picking off places in the last half mile to finish as our second Viking in 18:32. Right behind was frosh Kaden Ramos (71st, 18:35) and Noah Flores (73rd, 18:39) with Damien Turner (19:52) and Jacob Kunz (19:53) battling to be the final team scorer for the Vikes on the day. Justin Yuh was victim to the challenges of the course injuring his ankle, but persevered to finish at 20:44. Last race of the day for Valencia was the Freshman girls. The Vikings had a solid group of 12 ladies toeing the line along with 130 competitors. The girls got out well and looked strong, setting themselves in a good position as the rain started to fall. Micaella Fenelon led the group with a super strong race on the tough course. She finished fifth overall after a strong showing in the last mile to move up a couple of positions on the final downhill. The second Viking, 28th overall, was Hayley Sykes who ran super strong throughout the race, and is on a path of continued success! Emily Downs was the third Viking of the day earning a spot in the top third of the race. She ran a bit conservatively in the first half and let it loose on the downhill to pass many of her competitors. Arundhathi Jathin and Gianna Bazar worked together for much of the race finishing only one second apart; they are looking tough and getting faster every week! Ariana Reyes McCarth aslo had a solid race wisely pacing herself to a finish in the top half of the racers and continuing to show improvement every week! Most of the Running Vikes have a week off from racing next weekend as only the varsity squads will make the trip up to the Clovis Invitational to take a taste of the state championship course. With a month left of the regular season remaining, the team is shaping up to bring some surprises in the remaining events. Go Vikes! Full Race Results: http://www.milesplit.live/meets/575491