The CORE Butte cross country team traveled to Gibson Ranch Regional Park on Saturday for the Flat SAC Invitational, one of the biggest meets in Northern California, featuring hundreds of athletes from across the region. Even against much larger schools, CORE runners held their own and put together a strong showing in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions.
For the varsity girls, senior Brianna Hayes continued her incredible season, taking third overall in the small-school division with a time of 18:50.99. Fellow seniors Katelyn Copper (44th, 22:14.63), Amanda Mabie (58th, 23:13.23), and Katelyn Merrick (64th, 23:31.13) all finished close together, helping CORE earn a fifth-place team finish out of 29 schools.
On the varsity boys’ side, sophomore Luke Schooling placed 62nd overall with a time of 18:08.53, while senior Adrik Dyer came in 68th at 18:18.59. Junior Samuel Boian finished in 154th at 20:32.15, rounding out CORE’s varsity effort. The boys team placed solidly in the middle of a very competitive small-school field led by Trinity and Chico.
In the Frosh/Soph Small School race, freshman Lance Tennis ran an 18:49.59, finishing 98th, and freshman Abi Gonzalez crossed at 17:36.50 for 67th overall.
Their next race is the MVL Finals at Durham High School on November 13th.
