The Yucca Valley High School cross-country team set two new team time course records and two new individual school course records with 13 personal best times at the Beaumont Invitational. Both teams placed third overall out of the 10-team affair. The boys had a combined time of 81:56 (1:10 faster) and the girls were 1:41:35 (1:21 faster).
Coach Jay Stepp said, “For the girls, Emma Mills continues to burn it up early on, disintegrating her own course record by 19 seconds. She placed fifth out of 60 runners, covering the three miles in 18:30. Coming into her own, Sophomore Cadence Youngman hammered out the number two time in school history, running 18:38 (PR), placing seventh.”
On the boys side, Stepp said Elijah Ocegueda scorched the course in 15:12 (PR), breaking the course record by 15 seconds, set by Andy Tamayo last year. Ocegueda placed second out of 64 runners. The winning time was 14:53. Tamayo has been “under the weather” the last couple of days and was told to stay home and rest. But not wanting to let his teammates down, Tamayo ran to a sixth-place finish in 16:01.
Up next for the Trojans is the 25th Annual Hi-Desert Classic at Machris Park on Friday, September 13. Start time will be 4:30 p.m. The Trojans are the defending champions for both boys and girls.
