All the hard work and sweat Corona del Sol put into the season boiled down to the cross-country state meet, which took place Nov.16. 

“This is the race we train all summer for,” said coach Pat Smith. “Train through 108 degrees in August and September." 

The stakes at this meet were the highest they have been all year. Only the best of the best from Arizona qualified for this meet.

Corona del Sol’s boys team placed 13th overall, with a score of 332. The girls placed 17th out of 19 teams overall, with a score of 489. 

The top runner for the boys team was senior Zachary Johnson, who finished 17th overall. Johnson timed in at 16 minutes 20 seconds. He said he didn’t have the final push in him to go faster toward the end of the race. 

“It was a tough race,” said Johnson. “I didn’t have it in me to kick, I gave it my best though.”

The top runner for the girls team was sophomore Ashlinn Aguayo, who placed 87th overall. She timed in at 21 minutes 43 seconds. She exceeded her expectations. 

“I think I did well,” said Aguayo. “I didn’t think I was going to get first for our team so that was kinda unexpected.”

She knows she has time to improve considering she is only a sophomore. 

“I think overall I had a good season,” said Aguayo. “I know I still have two more years to work at it, so I’m just going to keep working hard, but it was a good season, I’m happy.” 

Going into the race, the coaches had reasonable expectations for their runners. They knew that they weren’t one of the elite teams, but they still pushed the runners to compete. The expectations for the race were met by many individual runners, but they felt they came up short as team. 

“The girls didn’t run as fast as I thought they would run, but they tried their best and ran as good as they could,” said Crane.  “Every single one of them has improved, whether it's from last year to this year, or during the season. They might not notice it, but they’re running better.” 

This was the last race for all of the seniors on the team. They knew the last one would feel different. 

“It feels weird,” said senior Connor Zook. “I’ve been running for four years, so ending it suddenly is kinda weird, but it was fun while it lasted.”

“It’s bittersweet,” said senior Emily Rugg. “I wasn’t thinking about it before the race, but after I crossed the finish line it’s very bittersweet, like this is it.” 

Senior Dominic Arellano wasn’t able to give his best performance, but he knew that this race would mean a lot since it was his last. 

“It's sad honestly,” said Arellano. “I’ve been running since I was 5 years old in Maricopa, and it's crazy knowing that this was it.” 

The coaches believe their young runners will help them move forward. 

"We have a couple of young girls coming in that are supposed to be really good,” said Crane. “I’m excited for the future because we have three juniors who will be seniors next year, and that’s going to help a lot because they can show them the way.” 

“We got a great group of young guys, freshmen and sophomores,” said Smith. “And Brian keeps reminding me that the future is really bright for us, they’re into it, and they want to train and be good.Our future is looking really good. Next year hopefully we’ll be a top five team."