By Carissa Chavez
As of last month, the Redwood High School cross country team was informed that the school would be hosting an invitational. Mount Whitney has hosted an invitational for several years which brings excitement to Redwood as they finally have their turn.
Cross country member, Nadia Lopez, ‘24 shares that having an invitational at Redwood is exciting because, “it seems really cool to have our own invitational because we know the track, we know what we’re doing [and we] know this area, and it’s nice to have local schools [to compete] against.”
Lopez adds, “I’m super excited to be competing this season and especially at this invitational.”
Cross country member, Sam Suggs, ‘22 says, “It feels nice to be able [to] have my own invitational [and], everything about it feels really familiar since it’s organized by our coaches.”
Suggs says, “Mount Whitney has had one every year and I’ve gone to it every year that I’ve been in high school.”
He adds, “I think it’s cool to have another invitational in Visalia where we can bring other schools from other places to compete with us here in Visalia.”
The cross country team has been practicing hard this season and have been working together to compete against other schools, finishing with a win.
Cross country member, Vanessa Nino, ‘22 says, “It feels great because this invitational is actually our fundraiser for the cross country team [and] yes, I’m excited to compete because we actually have a season this year.”
Nino adds, “It feels amazing because we get to show how excellent the Redwood cross country team is.”
With having an invitational and hosting at your own school, comes with expectations. Coaches and runners would want to be labeled as a good team and hosting an enjoyable invitational.
Lopez says, “I expect Redwood to do really good [and] I think we’re going to do really good because this past meet we did good.”
She adds, “We know our competitors really well, so I think we’ll do good.”
Lopez explains that her and her team work together, “We’re just going to use each other and help each other, and just work off each other.”
Suggs shares his expectations and says, “My expectations are that everyone will get a huge PR (personal record), [and the team is] preparing for this meet by working hard every day at practice.”
Nino says, “I expect a good race, I believe our team can take home many wins.”
She adds, “I feel as if the team is bonding more since the Morro Bay Invitational. With that our communication is way better.”
Carissa Chavez
Carissa Chavez '25 is a fourth time year journalism writer with the Redwood Gigantea. She enjoys writing and is excited to write stories throughout the year about lifestyles and feautures. Outside of Redwood Gigantea, Carissa is a baker and apart of the certified nursing assistant program.You can reach her by email at caris.ch3841@vusd.us
Tags: crosscountry, highschool, invitational, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood journalism, redwood rangers