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St. Pius Cross-Country Updates

By Robert Coghlan IV, St. Pius X High School, School Buzz Editor | September 26, 2016

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Coach Erin Wassenhove, Sophia Sanchez, Charlie McIntyre, Katie Pharr

(From left) Coach Erin Wassenhove, Sophia Sanchez, Charlie McIntyre and Katie Pharr. (Photo: St. Pius X High School)

St. Pius X High School sophomore Sophia Sanchez broke a 12-year-old school record and the boys varsity cross country team placed second at the Second Baptist Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 17.

In a race consisting of over 100 runners, Sanchez broke the record on the 2-mile race with a time of a 12:52. She placed fourth overall.

“Sophia has been competing in 5K races to make herself stronger,” said head coach Erin VanWassenhove. “She is realizing her potential this year and running with a lot of confidence.”

“On that day I had a good feeling that I was going to do well,” Sanchez said. “The course was flat, so I had a better chance. Towards the end, I heard my coach tell me to sprint, so I sprinted, and then I saw a time of 12-something. With a lot of practice and encouragement from Coach VanWassenhove, I feel like I have the strength to do well, but I didn’t know I was going to beat the record. It was exciting for me!”

In addition to Sanchez, Charlie McIntyre (6th) and Katie Pharr (14th) medaled at the meet.

Afterwards, VanWassenhove praised the team’s performance.

“This past weekend was a great confidence boost for the cross country team,” VanWassenhove said. “The SPX team has been mainly competing in the large public school meets that are highly competitive. We have been holding our own, however, it was good to see where we were compared to our peer schools in TAPPS.”

Signs for a bright future include newcomer junior Grace Farris who finished 25th out of 130 runners and junior Sydney Ashmore who is steadily improving in each race.

The second-place boys varsity team consists of Eddie Borrego, Rushil Desai, Zander Jez, McIntyre, Hayden Murdock, Collin Redpenning, Jacob Schmalz and Nathan Skouby. VanWassenhove added that the rest of the JV boys and girls all beat their best times from this year.

“We have a lot more time to get even faster,” she said. “We will start doing speed workouts next week, which will contribute to many times dropping in the future.”