By Olivia Krueger, Sports Editor
After yet another successful cross country season, the varsity girls won their third consecutive Sunset Conference Final. They also placed fourth in the CIF Southern Section Section Prelims and eighth in the CIF Division One State Championships. Their success, however, did not come without years of training and dedication.
Before senior captains Isabella Guerra, Sara Feitz and Ashley Faller won their first Sunset League Championship as sophomores, the program had failed to advance past Sunset League Championships since 2007.
“When I first started running for this team when I was a freshman, the girls’ cross country team came almost last in the league every year, and there were not that many seniors to lead the team, so everyone kept to themselves,” said Guerra.
The senior runners believe their team dynamic and positive attitude have since improved and made them a more competitive team overall. Coaches played no small part in facilitating the program’s newfound success. This season, the team welcomed Stacy Farris to join the ranks with longtime coaches Brian Bivens and Jerry Palazzo.
“Each of my coaches have a very different style and meaning behind how they coach, but, without each one of them, I would not be who I am as a person or an athlete today,” said senior captain Sara Feitz.
Even before joining the team at Fountain Valley High School, many of the girls were running with each other from Palazzo’s youth running club Equalizers. “A lot of our girls came from Equalizers, so they have had a passion for running for a long time, which can be attributed to our coach,” said senior captain Ashley Faller.
However, despite their countless accomplishments throughout the years, the team believes they do not truly get the attention they deserve around school.
“Even though we have won Sunset League and gone to CIF three years in a row and are arguably the most successful team on campus, we are rarely featured in BBN or given the game of the week titles,” said Feitz. “Many times there are no students or staff that come to our meets even when they are as close as three miles away. The more support we get, the faster we run, and it would feel really great to be recognized for all the hard work we put into our sport.”
As many of the senior girls look to continue their cross country career in college, they leave behind not only League titles but a dominant dynasty and spark for years to come.
“I’m confident that the team will do well because everyone is still growing and improving. We got three amazing freshman this year and I know we are getting another solid runner in 2019 so I have faith that they will perform well due to the great team dynamic,” said Faller.
