Over 23,000 athletes, including Foothill’s cross country runners, raced at the Mt. Sac Invitational Friday, the largest cross country meet in the world.

The six freshmen girls who ran the three-mile course took first place in the Division IV and V girls’ frosh heat, with a combined time of one hour, 57 minutes, and 37.5 seconds. They averaged 23 minutes, 31 seconds per runner. Freshman Maize Anders beat that time by over a minute to come in eighth place in her heat out of 170 runners, with a time of 21 minutes, 58.1 seconds.

Freshmen Ryan Bova and Chris Kuchta finished in the top five for the Division IV and V boys’ frosh race with Bova coming in first place out of 171 runners at 18 minutes and 40.4 seconds and Kuchta in fourth, finishing at 19 minutes and 27.4 seconds. Foothill overall came in first place out of the 12 competing schools for the frosh boys’ race with a total time of one hour, 38 minutes, and 43.3 seconds and an average of 19 minutes, 44.7 seconds.

Sophomore Emily Kinnaman was the first Foothill runner across the line in the tenth grade girls’ Division IV and V heat, with a final time of 25 minutes, 23.7 seconds. In the Division IV girls’ sweepstakes race, sophomore Gabby Sones was the first Foothill athlete to finish, with a time of 20 minutes, 54.4 seconds.

The sophomore boys were the fastest team in the Division IV and V tenth grade boys’ race, clocking in a total time of one hour, 34 minutes, and 13.8 seconds. Sophomore Jared Rodriguez took third place out of 140 runners with a time of 17 minutes, 26.5 seconds. His teammate, sophomore John Marcoux, finished in fourth place, just four seconds behind Rodriguez.

Junior Andrew Neville was the first Foothill boy to cross the finish line for the Division IV and V junior varsity boys’ race, coming in fourth place out of 288 runners. Neville’s time was 18 minutes and 30.1 seconds, and Foothill overall came in 11th place out of 23 schools with a total time of one hour, 42 minutes, and 49.9 seconds and an average of 20 minutes, 34 seconds.

Coach Ken Reeves called the Mt. Sac Invitational the “most iconic cross country course in the nation,” and freshman Maize Anders was surprised by Foothill’s strong showing in the meet.

“I was really shocked by how well Foothill did,” said Anders. “Going in, especially since we’re such a new team, it made me proud, as a Foothill girl and as a freshman [runner].”

Both Anders and Reeves were impressed by the cross country team’s performance at Mt. Sac. Reeves noted that “lots of people ran very well.”

According to Anders, only a few Foothill teams did not earn plaques in their heats, but “it was just a numbers thing,” the result of fewer Foothill runners participating in those heats. Anders believes “all [the teams] did phenomenally.”

Anders’ overall time at Mt. Sac was a positive one, and she was impressed with her teammates’ hard work and dedication at the meet.

“It was a neat experience to run at Mt. Sac,” said Anders. “[The team] really handled the pressures of Mt. Sac and had fun.”