Dedicated Shadow Hill coaches, athletes rise early
to log miles and excel in recent cross country meet
By William Raphelt
Shadow Hills Staff
At the beginning of the school year, a Shadow Hills Middle School teacher was excited when she was asked to start a cross-country program at the school.
Emily Plum took this task on to get students starting running mid August to prepare for the cross country meet held Thursday.
These students started running two times a week in the morning before school.
Brianna Romero-Tafoya said, “It’s cool doing something new, being in sixth grade and trying cross country.”
Romero-Tafoya’s hard work and dedication paid off as she finished sixth (17:57) in Thursday’s first-ever Falcon Invitational at Shadow Hills. Other top finishers for Shadow Hills were: seventh-grader Estrella Meza, who finished third in 16:49.
For the boys, Shadow Hills’ Josue Onofre was fourth in the sixth-grade division with a time of 15:56, and teammate Diego Marquez Machuca took sixth in 16.33, also in the sixth-grade boys division.
As far as being asked to wake up earlier than normally, Nicole Lampke said, “I don’t like waking up at 6 a.m., but it helps us get stronger.”
As these student-athletes continue to balance practicing and school work, Josue Onofre said, “I like waking up early because it gives us more energy for school, helps us exercise and helps our lungs out.”
Continuing to prepare for the event over time, Yazmine Jackson Narez said, “ I hope to get faster, it will help you build up muscle.”
These student-athletes have been working hard both on the cross country and in the classroom.
Recently, all students earned a personal record on their two-mile, the distance which they raced at the Falcon Invitational, and students have been able to track their progress through training logs.
They all know that the teachers/coaches at Shadow Hills take their education first and their athletic second. However, the student-athletes are expected to push themselves to be the best in anything they are doing.
And that is exactly what these five and others have done to help start and set up the future for a successful cross-country program at Shadow Hills.
Overall Diego Marquez Machuca summed it all up with “It’s fun!”