Encinal High School's Girls Cross Country Takes Home the League Championship Banner

Congratulations to the Encinal High School Girls’ Varsity team for winning the WACC Shoreline League championships for the first time in school history. It was a great team effort with 5 team members finishing in the top 8 overall. The team has four freshmen including the League’s Individual Champion Anneli Arneson who narrowly defeated her teammate Monica Zuranich for the title. Pictured here with their championship banner are: Christine Warren, Linnea Arneson (co-Captain), Anneli Arneson, Catie Norboe (co-Captain), Shamiya Pappas, Gabby Gustafsson, Ophelia Rebanal, and Monica Zuranich. The Encinal Boys Varsity team also had a strong showing with 2nd Team All-League Honors going to Hank Smith, Ryan Kelley-Cahill, and Nathan Siao. Michael Richie, Kelvin Nguyen, John Coyle, and Nathan Hui garnered All-League Honorable Mention.

Co-Captain Linnea Arneson was unable to run Saturday because of a mild concussion she sustained on Thursday. But even though she couldn’t run, she did what she could to contribute to the win. She was the team’s biggest cheerleader on Saturday. “I was screaming all kinds of crazy things at them to get them to run faster on the hill. I shouted things like ‘Anakin Skywalker is right behind you!’ and ‘Do it for the macaroons!’”

Coach Don Porteous sent the team a congratulatory email praising their hard work and dedication. He said that most of the team had set Personal Records on Saturday, some beating their previous best times by as much as 50 seconds. The Boys Frosh/Soph team finished 3rd overall and the Boys Varsity Team 4th. Coach Don is excited by the prospects of the Encinal Track team this year since he also coaches distance runners on the track team. He encouraged the team to stay fit and keep running, just as he has done all his life allowing him to continue competing at the age of 68,

Go Jets!