Ready, Set, Go!
Crystal Middle School, Cross Country and Track & Field Teams
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5.12.17 |
Crystal Does It Again
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For the second week in a row, the Cougar track and field teams went toe-to-toe with other schools in the district and emerged victorious. Competing against both Suisun Valley and Oakbrook on Wednesday, Crystal's dedicated team showed a lot of improvement overall, as well as individually. Alexandro Meza, best known for his super-long-distance runs, PR'ed in the decidedly shorter 800m race by over 13 seconds, and in the mile by 10. 6th grader Luis Mah also improved his 800m time considerably, dropping 7 seconds in just one week. Mah also finished in the top 3 of the 400m, following teammates Nolan Nguyen and Braulio Castillo. Jaydin Borromeo had an impressive debut in the 100m, finishing in 15 seconds flat and highlighting an event that saw most of our boys earn half-second PR's or better. In the shot put, 7th grader Jonathan Lau threw over a foot and a half further than he had a week prior, while Nguyen also had an impressive showing with a 3-foot PR that earned him 1st place in the event.
The girls team also demonstrated significant improvement, with PR's in the mile and 800m by Marian Supapo, who was joined by fellow 6th grader Valeria Perez. Perez, running the events for the first time, nonetheless scored points in both races. Monifa Mills once again led the girls in the 100m with a half-second PR, an improvement matched by teammates Ongrainna Harvey, Jasmyne Murphy, and Gabrielle Caliz; PR'ing by over one second in the event were Amanda Johnston and Neveah Kilpatrick. 7th grader Olivia Thompson continued her domination of the shot put with a two-foot PR, with Kelechi Bennett and Paris Fullen rounding out the top 3. At the end of the day, both teams were triumphant, with Crystal's girls leading Suisun Valley 47-17 and Oakbrook 53-10. Our boys led Suisun Valley 56-8 and maintained a perfect score against Oakbrook, 64-0. |
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5.5.17 |
Cougars Off to Strong Start
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Facing a dearth of racing opportunities for middle schoolers in the area, the Crystal and B. Gale Wilson track teams met on Wednesday for some friendly competition before official contests begin next week. Both Crystal teams started strong, and maintained that momentum throughout the meet. After taking 1st in the 4x100m relay, the boys also swept the 1600m, led by Alexandro Meza and followed closely by fellow 8th grader Nolan Nguyen and 7th grader Raekwon Bell. 6th grader Marian Supapo finished about a minute later, taking 1st place for the girls team while claiming the school record with a time of 6:55.7.
Later highlights included Timothy Johnston leading another sweep in the boys open 100m, while Monifa Mills did the same for the girls. Mills was the only girl to stay under 15 seconds, although teammate Ongrainna Harvey came close, finishing her race at 15.00 exactly. In the 800m, Nguyen and Meza were joined by Mekhei Byrd for another 1-2-3 finish. Nguyen subsequently participated in the very next event, the 200m, which he also won, followed closely by Victor Morgane and Nile Garcia. In the shot put, 7th grader Olivia Thompson out-threw all the other girls - and most of the other boys - to land a 34-8, contributing 5 points to our girls' eventual 10-point win over B. Gale. Our boys also won their meet, with a score of 46 to 18. |
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3.6.17 |
Meza Runs 14 Miles on 14th Birthday
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While many people spend their birthdays relaxing at home or eating cake, 8th grader Alexandro Meza used his 14th birthday on Saturday to train toward another milestone: achieving a new mileage PR, and a new school record in the process. Starting his run at the Fairfield Cordelia Library, Crystal's top runner covered 14.7 miles through Rockville Hills Regional Park and Cordelia, reentering Fairfield to loop around Green Valley Middle School and finish his over-half-marathon feat at Rodriguez High School in under 2 hours.
Meza, a 2nd-year Cougar track athlete, has made terrific progress since he joined the team as a 7th grader, which he attributes to keeping a growth mindset, along with dedication to his training. "I run almost every day, and I set goals for myself. I plan to hit 16 miles before April, and I want to break 5 minutes in the mile by the end of track season," he said. Cougars who want to train with Meza and more of Crystal's best athletes are invited to attend conditioning sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays in F-203 at 3:25pm during the month of March. |
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11.3.16 |
Milage Monsters
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With just days left in the season, several Cougar athletes achieved a season-long goal of running all the way to Grange Middle School. The fact that they were undeterred by the over-5.50 mile round-trip journey was impressive enough, but even more so considering that most of them are 6th graders -- amazing!
Getting in some postseason training the following week, 8th graders Jared Rivera and Alexandro Meza and 7th grader Gabriel Wahid marked another milestone, running all the way to Suisun City's Walmart, hitting the 10k mark (over 6 miles) on their way back. Well on their way to meeting their goal of breaking 8 miles before the start of track season, the boys intend to complete at least one high-mileage run together every week. |
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10.21.16 |
Big Win, PR's for Crystal at B. Gale
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After Monday's photo run shenanigans at the Waterfront, the Cougar XC squad got back to work on Tuesday, traveling across town for their second and final showdown against B. Gale Wilson. In a clear indication that their weeks of training are really paying off, the Cougars were rewarded with huge race performance improvements, with many athletes achieving PR's of a minute or more. Marked by the return of 8th grader Alexandro Meza after being sidelined for weeks by a broken arm, the boys team won the meet with 8 of our runners finishing the 1.50 mile race in under 10 minutes.
After finishing in 2nd place to B. Gale runner Cynthia Laughman at their first showdown in September, 6th grader Marian Supapo fought her way back to the top, earning 1st place and a 9:35 PR in the process. The next day, Supapo went on to earn 1st place yet again, at the Doug Butt Memorial Run at Laurel Creek Park, running a mile PR of 6:55. Several of her teammates joined her at the annual race, representing Crystal across 3 divisions. |
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10.17.16 |
Crystal Runners Get Creative for Photo Scavenger Hunt
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Impersonating everything from zombies and wizards to shoe salesmen and Judge Judy, Crystal's runners traversed the Suisun Waterfront on Monday, snapping photos as they worked their way through a list of very specific and strange scenarios. If you've ever wondered what a cross country ninja battle or human foosball game looks like, click the photo and check out the full album!
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10.15.16 |
Crystal Boys and Girls Win Final Home Meet
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With a perfect score of 15 points, Crystal XC's boys team defeated Matt Garcia Academy on Tuesday, while the girls team enjoyed a victory as well. Although race times stayed relatively flat due to fewer competitors, 6th grader Marian Supapo managed to cut her school record down for a third consecutive time, finishing 2 seconds faster at 10:22 and cementing her status as Crystal's school record holder for 2016. Running in their first races ever, 8th grader Alexander Perez-Sanchez and 6th grader Valeria Perez held their own, finishing as part of Crystal's top 5 and scoring points that helped catapult their team to victory.
The next day, Perez-Sanchez and Supapo joined teammates Jesse Gaona, Bosstyn Wommack, and Gabriel Wahid for our longest run so far this season, covering over 5 miles on foot as they traveled from Crystal to Dover Park, past Anna Kyle Elementary, Armijo High, and back to school through the Suisun Waterfront. Running in new places is one of the best parts of cross country, and our runners capped off a great week on Saturday by traveling to Sacramento for the Falcon Middle School Invitational. Along with the change of scenery, Crystal achieved several huge PR's, including a well-deserved 30 second improvement by Wahid, as well as converted PR's of over a minute by Supapo, Gaona, and Aiyana Hernandez Zuniga. |
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10.1.16 |
Busy Week As Cougars Race in Two Cities
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Several members of Crystal's cross country team proved their fortitude this week as they competed in two races within the span of three days. At the league meet versus Green Valley on Tuesday, 7th grader Jaydin Borromeo and 8th grader Jonathen Sanchez both improved their personal bests by over half a minute in the boys race, while teammates Tyeese Chappell and Aiyana Hernandez Zuniga improved by similarly impressive amounts in the girls competition. Meanwhile, Marian Supapo set a new school record for the second week in a row, bringing her time down to 10:24 on our 1.40 mile course.
On Thursday, the Cougars got the unique opportunity to race against schools in another league as they were invited by Benicia Middle School to race on the BMS home course at Community Park in Benicia. Braving windy conditions and hilly terrain that aren't often experienced in Suisun, Crystal's runners were up for the challenge -- particularly Supapo, who ran her first sub-7:00 mile in the first race of the day. The boys, even after the tiring work of running multiple races, still made a point to climb and conquer Benicia's infamous PRAB hill before they went home. |
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9.24.16 |
Crystal Wins First League Meet
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After a forfeiture by Matt Garcia Academy the previous week, the Crystal XC team finally got their chance at league competition on Tuesday in a matchup against B. Gale Wilson that saw Crystal's boys team emerge victorious. 8th grader Alexandro Meza led the pack, finishing almost a minute ahead of B. Gale's first finisher.
In the girls race, 6th grader Marian Supapo proved herself a force to be reckoned with, finishing ahead of nearly every B. Gale girl, including lots of 7th and 8th graders. On Thursday, the Cougars celebrated their win at the It's-It outlet, with ice cream sandwiches that didn't seem to impede the second half of their workout too much. |
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9.5.16 |
First Week of Cross Country is in the Books!
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It's only been a few days, but the Crystal Cougar cross country team has already covered over 10 miles on foot! In just the first week of practice, our super runners have made it as far as Armijo High School, and the docks on the waterfront. Where will they go next?
For many athletes, Saturday marked their first-ever cross country race at the Lagoon Valley Invitational in Vacaville. Crystal had a great showing, with very promising times that will get even faster as the season progresses. For results and pictures, click the photo and clipboard icon! Do YOU want to run Fast Like Us? Don't get left behind! This is the last week that new runners can join the team. Practice meets Monday through Thursday at 3:25pm in Mr. Sturgis's classroom, F-203. Come see what it's all about! |
