DVCC made its annual out-of-state trip to Southern California on September 20th to compete in the 34th Annual Woodbridge Cross Country Classic, a meet that draws top teams from all over Southern California and the West Region who are looking for a quality mid-season test.
The unique format of the meet allows schools to field a Varsity squad, as well as a squad for each class. The meet always provides a highly-visible opportunity to showcase the ever-present depth and quality of the DVCC Program. In addition, the 3.0-mile course is flat and fast and typically produces Season Bests for a majority of the Thunder Runners.
In the Blue (Division 1) Freshmen race, DVCC got things of to a great start by placing 3rd out of over 40 teams. The Freshmen were led by Nick Thatcher (16:32), who finished in 7th place overall. He was followed by Habtamu Cheney (16:35) in 10th place, J Iannone (16:49) in 13th, Reece Donihi (17:17) in 23rd, and Keith Koleber (17:36) in 42nd.
In the Blue (Division 1) Sophomore race, DVCC placed 2nd out of 45 teams. The Sophomores were led by Nicholas Walrod (16:22), who finished in 13th place overall. He was followed by DJ Johnson (16:34) in 17th-place, Jackson Hickey (16:39) in 20th, Aidan Schramm (16:44) in 24th, and Ernie Del Rio (17:06) in 56th.
In the Blue (Division 1) Junior race, DVCC placed 18th out of 40 teams. The Juniors were led by Anthony Ramirez (16:35), who finished in 28th place overall. He was closely followed by Joe Kretschmar (16:36) in 30th place, Isaac Carrizosa (18:08) in 128th, Zef bagby (18:32) in 153rd, and Logan Smith (18:47) in 173rd.
In the Blue (Division 1) Senior race, DVCC placed 7th out of 39 teams. The Seniors were led by Matt Beeks (16:47), who finished in 35th place overall. He was followed by Jacob Janas (16:58) in 48th place, Josh Tarchinski (17:03) in 51st, Jackson Blue (17:36) in 74th, and Ethan Tang (17:36) in 75th.
The DVCC Varsity narrowly missed a top-10 finished and took 11th out of 40 teams under the lights in the Doug Speck Sweepstakes race, the premier event of the meet. The Varsity was led by a pair of Juniors who finished in a virtual tie after covering the 3.0-mile course in a blazing 15:00, with Xavier Esparza (50th) edging out DJ Harris (51st). They were followed by a pair of Seniors, Ben Davis (15:10) in 63rd and Kyle Havriliak (15:20) in 83rd. An impressive performance by Sophomore Chris D'Angelo (15:35) in 112th rounded out the scoring.