On Saturday evening Sept 3rd, 2016, DVCC made a return appearance at the Cool Breeze Evening Invitational in Pasadena, CA. The race was held next to the world-famous Rose Bowl on a flat and fast 3-mile course in cool (70-degree) weather that allowed nearly every DVCC runner to post a Personal Record (PR). The meet provided DVCC with a great early-season test by allowing it to compete in multiple races against premier programs from all over Southern California
The Thunder was once again the lone Arizona High School Cross Country program to compete in the event and delivered solid performances in all of its races.
In the Junior Varsity Race, the DVCC JV got things off to a great start with a second-place finish, 5 points behind Arcadia (a traditional SoCal powerhouse). Junior Bryce Schmisseur took 2nd-place overall in a PR of 16:07. He was followed to the tape by Senior Leo Crowder in 10th (16:26) and Junior Nick Thatcher in 11th (16:27). A couple of Juniors completed the scoring with Michael Tuli in 23rd (16:59) narrowly edging Jack Willems in 24th (16:59). Seniors DJ Johnson in 28th (17:06) and Aiden Schramm in 33rd (17:09) turned in great finishes to limit the 1-to-7 spread to a mere 62 seconds.
In the Sophomore Race, the DVCC Sophomores charged to a first-place finish 5 points ahead of Mira Costa (CA). Travis Kearny notched his first win as a Thunder Runner, taking first-place overall in a PR of 15:55. He was followed by Lee Nasewytewa, whose 16:11 was good enough for a 4th-place finish. Marshall Smith in 22nd (17:21), Neal Saxena in 25th (17:29), and Milan Patel in 37th (17:41) wrapped up the scoring for the squad. Jordan Cates in 41st (17:43) and Ceth Reeves in 53rd (18:08) finished strong to round out the top seven.
In the Freshmen Race, the DVCC Freshmen grabbed 2nd-place behind Claremont (CA). Sammy Van Alstine started his DVCC career off with a bang, winning the race in 16:27. He was followed to the line by Noah Werbelow in 16th (17:23). Nicolo Perciballi and his 17:52 was good for 25th, one spot ahead of Vincent Laurente in 26th (17:53). Adam Hansen completed the scoring with a 28th-place finish in 18:01.
In the Seeded Varsity Race (the premier event of the meet), the DVCC Varsity took home a 2nd-place finish that saw all five DVCC scorers post sub-16 minute times. Senior Co-Captain Chris D'Angelo led the way by taking 9th-place overall with a PR of 15:08. He was followed into the chutes by Juniors Habtamu Cheney in 11th with a PR of 15:09 and Reece Donihi in 18th with a PR of 15:15. Two more juniors, Axel Laudon in 41st (15:45) and D'Angelo Piasecki in 62nd (16:10) completed the scoring, with each running a PR. Also placing were J Iannone (Jr) in 82nd with a PR of 16:06 and Nick Walrod (Sr) in 105th with a PR of 16:17. Yes, you read that correctly: all seven runners posted PRs in this race.
Coach Hanson was pleased with the team's performance and is looking forward to the season: "The boys ran well and we expected them to after such a focused and hard working summer. This was probably the best showing we have had in California to date. I was really happy with the underclassmen and am excited with how we finished on Varsity knowing we can still improve!"