Webb cross country runners triumph in only home meet of the year

Bianca Arteaga, Kara Sun, and Sydney Wuu

September 27, 2019

VWS varsity cross country runners make their ways towards the starting line.

In scorching 96 degree weather, Webb hosted their only home cross country meet of the year on Tuesday, September 24th. As cross country runners faced the hilly run spanning a total of 3.1 miles, they looked to maintain their undefeated status in league for both VWS and WSC.

“Mongo” is part of the classic Webb course; it consists of many steep hills and turns. The starting pistol is fired at Faculty Field, prompting runners to start with a quarter of the track on its northern side. Next, they pace themselves down a slight hill to the softball field behind the gym, into the California chaparral on a dirt trail, and onto Chandler field where they make a loop. They then come back up the way they came down, but this time, it is more uphill and they do not come through the softball field. Runners race up the steep Mongo hill before finishing back at the track to a roaring crowd of support.

However, if running this course once does not seem like enough, try running it two times. Once runners arrive back up the track, they repeat the course again. After an exhausting race, the Webb cross country teams finished Mongo and were able to rest.

Since Webb’s cross country team trains extremely hard every day, the results were astonishing. The WSC varsity team had seven runners back to back in the front of the race when the group arrived at Chandler Field. In the end, six of the seven runners maintained their original position and WSC placed first among varsity boys with 15 points.

As for individual successes, girls varsity team co-captain Lily Miller (‘21) sprinted way ahead of her competition and finished in first place with a comfortable lead. On the WSC varsity team, Michael Martinez (‘21) clinched first place for the boys.

All of Webb’s teams placed first in their respective divisions, with the lowest scores of all competing schools. As in golf, the team with the lowest amount of points wins the competition; the earlier you finish, the less points you receive. VWS varsity finished with a total of 17 points, VWS junior varsity totaled 15 points, and WSC junior varsity had a total of 15 points.

Cross country’s next invitational meet is this Saturday, September 28th at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Go Webb, go Gauls!

About the Contributors

Bianca Arteaga, Public Editor

Do you know many busy bees at Webb? If you don't, then maybe you haven't met Bianca Arteaga ('22)—a self-described bee, she is productive, cheerful, and hardworking. She is, like many productive people, a morning person, and very organized. So perhaps it is no surprise that she is taking on the added challenge of AP Spanish this year, in order to better help people internationally in the future. Bianca eventually wants to become a lawyer and help people worldwide, which she may need Spanish for. For now, Bianca wants to help people locally by using the WCC to teach freshmen and sophomores to love Webb as she does. Bianca's other passion is protecting the environment. Despite being a very busy and successful student, Bianca is also very skilled in the athletic department. She is the varsity softball captain and hopes to continue playing even once she goes to college. Besides her work, Bianca also has a fun side: she loves playing the guitar, is obsessed with Taylor Swift, enjoys watching romcoms, and loves dad jokes. Bianca's many interests, well-balanced lifestyle, and unwavering work ethic truly make her a queen bee! Favorite song: "All Too Well" by Taylor Swift

Kara Sun, Co-Editor of Media

Kara Sun (’20) is an all-out foodie. Like any typical SoCal girl, her favorite food is In-N-Out. Deciding to explore her passion of discovering new food, she traveled beyond California and enjoyed tacos in Mexico and oyakodon in Japan in summer 2019. A characteristic that defines Kara is her dual-personality—she describes herself as both an introvert and an extrovert, just like a cat that is secretly a wannabe dog. As a dorm prefect, Kara enjoys socializing and helping people, but she also values her alone time in which she usually watches Netflix or listens to Billie Eilish. Human behavior intrigues Kara and she wishes to pursue this passion in college, so it is no surprise that Kara's favorite course at Webb is Literature and Psychology. Kara is also nostalgic: she loves the old Spider-Man because it brings up childhood memories, and she recommends you watch it too.

Sydney Wuu, Editor-in-Chief

Imagine being Editor-in-Chief for the Webb Canyon Chronicle, VWS all-school president, co-captain of the varsity tennis and water polo teams, and a big-time koala lover! Sydney Wuu (‘20), a senior boarding student from Pasadena, California, is all of these descriptions at once. You can catch Sydney listening to Khalid, watching Disney movies, or hanging out with her friends eating green tea mochi. Born on July 1st, Sydney portrays many of the characteristics of a Cancer: creative, loyal, and adventurous. Sydney employs these skills in her favorite humanities classes such as Advanced Studies Human Migration or Advanced Studies Cold War Era. Her goal this year is to broaden the horizons of the WCC with different forms of media, such as YouTube, Spotify playlists, and infographics.