The Santa Barbara and Dos Pueblos cross country teams headed to the Pepperdine Invitational on Saturday to compete on what both coaches Olivia Perdices and Leslie Wiggins-Roth labeled as “a college-level course.”
The Charger girls finished fourth while the boys were 10th. The Dons, missing several runners to SATs, still had some solid individual races and finished up in 13th place for the girls and 23rd for the boys in one of the larger meets of the year for both teams.
“It was good for them to get that experience,” said DP coach Wiggins-Roth, who has been busy preparing for Friday’s Dos Pueblos Invitational to be held at Shoreline Park.
On a course with plenty of elevation changes and world-class scenery that tracks itself through the Pepperdine campus and along Pacific Coast Highway, DP’s Sergei Sushchikh bested teammate Chris Braden by eight seconds to be the Chargers’ highest finisher. Sushchikh’s time of 16 minutes, fifty seconds was good for 34th-place overall.
The Charger girls had three competitors in the top 30. Kelly Kosmo again led Dos Pueblos, with her time of 20:36 good for 20th. Erin Campbell (20:44) and Sophie Pollack (20:53) came in 26th and 29th, respectively.
Ana Cowgill came in first for the Dons and 41st overall. Her time of 21:24 just beat teammates Corey Radis (21:40) and Geena Boscaacci (21:50).
Nathaniel Taylor led the Dons boys for the day, clocking in at 18:36. Taylor Jordan also broke the 19-minute barrier with a time of 18:58.
“It was a great course,” expressed Perdices. “Just about all grass, some dirt, and really hilly. It was a true cross-country course.”
While Wiggins-Roth and the Chargers get ready to host their invitational on Friday, the Dons prepare to head out on their longest road trip of the season on Saturday. Santa Barbara will race at the Clovis Invitational on the course where the state meet is held every year.
