through coming

LOCKED IN, freshman Adrian Lowe locks his sight towards the finish line as he wonders if he will be able to beat his personal best time. Lowe felt very proud when he realized he dropped 50 seconds from his previous race time. “I asked myself, am I going to make it? Would I break the 19-minute barrier? I checked my watch and realized I could make it and when I crossed the finish line, I was happy that I not only lowered my time, but that I also had contributed to my team,” Lowe said.

FINISHED, senior Tomas Valdivieso reaches for his watch to stop the time as soon as he crosses the finish line. At the end of the race, Valdivieso pushed through the final straightway to end on a good note. “I felt exhausted after my race. I reached for my watch to pause the time, and even though I did not get my personal record, I felt satisfied with the time I got,” Valdivieso said.

make it on the podium for his race. Rutten finished among the top five runners of the district and was the first runner of the team to finish. “Running helps me build a lot of confidence in myself, and I think I demonstrated that during my races, especially towards the end of the season,” Rutten said.

Gaining speed with each stride, freshman Tim Rutten reached the finish line at the 2A District meet on Oct. 18. After losing many elite runners due to injuries, the team ended their season by qualifying to the regional meet, coming in sixth place.

The team was also led by senior Tomas Valdivieso, who has stood out us a standout runner since his freshman year. Taking on his role, Valdivieso constantly reminded his teammates to run hard, compete, and have fun.

“I felt satisfied with the results and am really grateful for my team, as I have already known them for a couple years. There is no group of guys I would pick over them, and it made me really proud to run side-by-side with this team in my last season,” Valdivieso said.

Being the youngest on the team, Rutten earned an individual spot in the state finals in Tallahassee. On top of being the only boy to qualify, he finished as the first freshman in the 2A division at states and accomplished his season goal of breaking 17 minutes in the 5,000-meter event.

“I really enjoyed this season and liked the competitive atmosphere from the other teams in Florida. I felt very proud when my coach told me I was the first freshman in my race division. I am very hopeful as to what I can accomplish going forward,” Rutten said.

Although the team did not qualify to states, Rutten’s performance served as an inspiration to the other members of the team. The team has an optimistic outlook for the next season, where they will chase a hopeful qualifying spot to states.

“I am hopeful that next season will be better, as our high school team is still young and strong. Everyone on the team stayed very consistent in every race, which showed that our hard work paid off,” junior Sebastian Prusky said.

WITH ENCOURAGING WORDS, head coach David Suarez gives his team a short pep talk to boost the runners’ confidence and calm their pre-race jitters. “Before the race, it is important for me to show the guys that I am confident for them and trust that they are ready to execute a great team race,” Suarez said. The runners fed off the energy that Suarez gave them during his speech. “As I listened to our coach’s advice about running our best, I began to feel more excited and less nervous,” junior Walter Bannon said. Photo by Fox Mar