Cross Country Team Makes its Mark at State Meet

The Scotts Valley girls cross country team wrapped up an unforgettable season showing positive energy at the California Interscholastic Federation Division IV Championships on Saturday morning at Woodward Park in Fresno. 

This is the second year in a row that the Scotts Valley girls team qualified for the state meet and they finished tenth out of 25 of the best teams in the state.

Junior Vanessa Fraser did the same thing she has done all season–run incredibly fast–but this time the determination on her face was different. She was in it to win it and that’s just what she did with a time of 17:46 to be No. 1 and the champion of the race.  

Fraser’s championship finish marked the first time a Scotts Valley High female runner has won the CIF Division IV individual title.  

Her teammates were proud to be the supporting cast with their race times that scored 250 points.

    5.31      

24. Abby Utic      

66. Shannon Youmans

    6.45

Coach Doug Chase says he is proud of his girls as they competed beyond his expectations. Chase has coached cross country teams and runners for 40 years and has never coached a state champion until Saturday. It was a memorable day. 

Sophomore, Scott Edwards, was the only boy from Scotts Valley that raced in the boys division. He posted a great time for his first time racing in the California state meet.

54. Edwards     16.49     (5.07 mile)

Cross country is a sport for those who have endurance, heart, and a passion for running. Cross country running takes a lot of time and is a huge commitment with conditioning every day after school and during the summer. The SVHS coaches said they will look back on the 2011 season as a huge success. They will lose senior girls Abby Utic and Krista McNulty but feel their programs are in good shape for next season.

Congratulations Scotts Valley High on a successful cross country season.