by Chris Pfaff, Xavier Sportswriter
The Xavier Cross Country team made their annual trip to Flagstaff on Saturday to compete in The Peaks Invitational. The Gators took second place to the Flagstaff Eagles in the Girls 5K Summit varsity race . The race featured nine teams and ninety-one runners.
This year’s trek to Flagstaff, however, was different, marking the first meet under new leadership. Assistant Coach Nissa Kubly (Xavier Sculpture teacher) and new off-campus coach Daniel Wong are now co-head coaches.
They replaced Dave Van Sickle, who had successfully coached Xavier Cross Country (10 State Titles) for over 30 years but retired at the end of the 2023-24 school year.
Flagstaff dominated the field with just 32 points as their #1 and #2 runners took first and second, and their #3 thru #5 runners all crossed the finish line in 14th place or better.
In contrast, Xavier’s top two runners finished very respectably in fifth and sixth place. The #3, #4, and #5 Gators finished 15th, 20th, and 23rd for a team score of 69.
5th – JR Ella Wadsworth
6th – SR Kaitlyn Markham
15th – SO Katie Castle
20th – SO Chantel Newman
23rd – SR Maggie Mostoller
Complete Results on Athletic.net
Xavier competes locally this Saturday, September 7, at Freestone Park, Gilbert, in the Western Equinox Invitational.
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