LJ xc: Kyra Fisk 3rd in ASICS Invitational race; super sophs perform

By Ed Piper

Viking sophomore Kyra Fisk runs 3rd in the

Mt. Carmel/ASICS girls invitational race

at Morley Field Sat., Sept. 18.

Sophomore Kyra Fisk placed even higher at the Mt. Carmel/ASICS Invitational Sat., Sept. 18 than the week before, sprinting to a third-place finish in a race that included upperclasswomen with much more race experience in a time of 16:10.7 over the 2.75-course at Morley Field.

Among the 88 competitors--74 of whom were seniors--the 10th-grade Fisk's strong showing pulled along fellow Vikings Daphne Mayer (15th in 17:44.8), Sasha Backus (31st in 18:36.4), and Scarlett Slagter (35th in 18:58.0) to an unheard-of third place team finish for La Jolla High in the prestigious race.

Fisk and Mayer are sophomores. The other La Jollans are 11th- and 12th-graders.

The unknown red-and-black "kids from down the block" trailed only "big girls" La Costa Canyon, the winner, and Mt. Carmel High, in second place, in the final standings.

Teammates Natalie Courtney (37th in 19:05.2), Nicole Nunes (43rd in 19:29.1) Emma Valenzuela (71st in 22:46.1) also placed in the Invitational race.

"I was talking with the meet director, and he said the girls' times were good. He suggested I put them in the Invitational race," said La Jolla head coach Mandy Benham, as she watched for her runners during the race, which had an 8:30 a.m. kickoff as the first competition of the day. The Vikings run in Division 2.

In the boys' D2 Invitational race, La Jolla's Elijah Vaz, a sophomore, cranked out a time of 17:11.5 over 2.95 miles to take 27th place among 134 entrants.

Viking seniors in the same race, which started pretty early, 8:55 a.m. in the morning on a cooler day than some others, were Ronald Way (39th in 17:38.3), Matthew Nunes (47th in 18:09.4), Spencer Courtney (83rd in 20:29.4), and Benjamin Cravatt (84th in 20:35.9).