Three of the four Lady Broncs runners at the Mt. Sac earned medals. Submitted photos
In one of the largest cross country races in the United States, the Mt. Sac Race. Runners from all over compete. Aspen Hacker of the Lady Broncs ran to a second place finish to capture a medal.
Kern Valley’s A. Hacker ran the three-mile course in a time of 19.46. She was placed on the D5 Varsity race and bested all but one runner. She trailed this runner from Arrowhead Christian Academy by 20 seconds. Coming in second place, A. Hacker was the top Kern Valley runner on the day. The Lady Broncs, Greta Boettcher also ran in this race and came in a respectable 11th place. Her time was 23.02. She also took home a medal on the day.
Other Lady Broncs runners to compete were Kyla Hacker and Tabitha Cazares. Cazares competed in the D4 and 5 Frosh race. She ran the three-mile course in a time of 25.00. She crossed the line in 19th place. K. Hacker running in the D4 and 5 Sophomore race crossed the finish line in a time of 22.11. This time brought her a third-place finish and a medal.
Three Broncs runners also made the trip to Mt. Sac to race. Sebastian Stallone, Logan Sampson, and Angel Oliveras. Stallone ran in the D5 varsity race and crossed the line in 56th place. His time was 21.07. Sampson raced in the sophomore D4 and 5 race. His time was 20.48 and was good for 43rd. Oliveras finished the frosh D5 race in a time of 24.32 which placed him 72nd.
Kenny Bushling the Kern Valley head coach said, “It was an incredible experience for our runners, it is billed as the world’s largest Cross Country Competition. The kids did outstanding. Kyla Hacker is coming along after not feeling well for much of the season, she will be a real difference maker for CIF and hopefully at the State Meet. Also impressive was Tabitha as she set a new PR at 25 flat, she is running stronger each week she too can be a big difference maker come CIF/State meet time. Sebastian (Stallone) and Logan (Sampson) also participated at Mt. SAC. Both ran well and had very good experience this experience will serve them well over the next couple of weeks as we near the CIF meet.”
On Oct. 23, the Kern Valley cross country runners got to run on their home course. They faced off with Frazier Mountain. Both teams were able to race to victory. The Broncs squad was in a tight race for the team win. The final score of 27-29 favored the Kern Valley runners. The Falcons runner crossed the line in first place. Sampson of Kern Valley followed closely to come in second. His time was .28 seconds behind the leader. Stallone was next to come in. His time was 21.34 to finish third. Next up for the Broncs was Ethan Mauer. He crossed the line in a time of 22.13 to finish fifth. Three Broncs finished eighth, ninth, and 10th to secure the win. Dario Jones was eighth in a time of 24.39. Oliveras was ninth in a time 26.24 to give Kern Valley the victory. Luis Lopez was 10th in a time of 26.57 to prevent Frazier Mountain a chance to take the win away from the Broncs. The last runner for the Broncs was Matthew Leonez. His time was 29.03 to come in 14th. The Broncs are 4-1 in the HDL and that puts them currently in second place.
The Lady Broncs race was 20-36 to give them the HDL win. Kern Valley took the top three places in the home race. A. Hacker led the charge as she was first. Her time was 20.24. Boettcher crossed the line in second place in a time of 23.06, while K. Hacker came in third in a time of 24.36. Cazares was the fifth place finisher in a time of 26.38. Wrapping up the race for Kern Valley was Kassandra Guarneros who was the fifth finisher for the Lady Broncs. Her time was 28.15. The other finisher for Kern Valley was Faith Kirby (28.38) in 10th.
Up next for Kern Valley will be another home race versus Rosamond today. They have one more race after that before the HDL finals on Nov. 13.
