Oftentimes the number 13 is associated with bad luck. But when the Sedona Red Rock High School cross country team took to the trails at the Desert Twilight XC Festival in Queen Creek on Oct. 1, it proved quite lucky for the Scorpions.
A total of 13 Scorpions runners — nine boys and four girls — set personal records at the event. The event is one of the most anticipated of the year. Because of that, coach Ben Scamihorn figured that it would be a fast meet for the SRRHS team. Even still, the results surprised him.
“It was definitely the best meet we’ve had since I’ve been coaching here, both years,” Scamihorn said. “It was a fast course, which helps, but both teams raced really, really well. Almost everybody PR’d, which was better than I could have hoped for.”
Every SRRHS boy to participate in the event set a new personal record. They were led by Shota Yabuuchi [17:18], who finished second out of 183 racers. He was followed by Carlos Villegas [19:08], Francisco Bekele [19:28], Benji Cook [19:39], Kale Emerson [19:53], Isaac Montes de Oca Garcia [20:06], Jack Pierce [20:28], Alexis Pedroza [20:41] and Michael Calderon-Lopez [22:31]. As a team, the boys were fifth of 25 teams overall and second of the Division 4 schools.
The girls, meanwhile, were ninth out of 19 teams and third among the Division 4 schools. Skyla Bird led the way for the Scorpion girls with a time of 22 minutes. Her time was not a personal record. But her next four teammates — Jackie Palmer [22:40], Yaritza Landa [22:49], Soyoka Yabuuchi [26:16] and Arabella Licher [27:58] — all did make PRs.
The fast times can be attributed to a number of things. Scamihorn liked the fact that both the boys and girls ran hard to catch runners in the second half of their races. That helped them improve both their standing and times. But there are other reasons why this event helps produce fast times.
“The excitement of all the teams, it was at night on a super flat course with good weather,” Villegas said. “It just feels really different. I don’t know how to explain it. But it just feels way better than racing in the day. The sun’s not in your face. You don’t have to scrunch your face. It’s just good.”
Bird agreed, saying that the weather being cooler later in the day made the race more fun.
“During the day, we wake up and have the mindset that we’re waking up and we have to do a cross country meet in the morning,” he said. “There’s no stopping it. At night it’s a lot more enjoyable. It’s cooler outside and there’s a different sense to it. It feels a lot more chill.”
The Scorpions have three meets remaining before sectionals. Next up is the Dave Conaster Invitational at the McHood Park Clear Creek Reservoir in Winslow on Friday, Oct. 9. Following that, SRRHS will participate in the Bradshaw Mountain XC Invite on Saturday, Oct. 17, and the Holbrook Invitational on Friday, Oct. 23.
After that will be sectionals and then, if they qualify, the state championship meet. Scamihorn is upbeat about the direction that both of the teams are headed.
“The boys blew my mind with how good they did,” he said. “It really solidifies their chances of qualifying for state, as well. It puts them in a good spot.”
“It was a really good step in the right direction,” he added. “The girls team yesterday really showed me that they do have a good chance to qualify for state. We have to keep putting work in this next month to get there. But they’re definitely capable of it.”
