Ready, Set, Go!
Crystal Middle School, Cross Country and Track & Field Teams
|
|
3.28.18 |
10k Club Keeps Growing
|
|
In their final two weeks of conditioning before the start of the 2018 season, Crystal Middle School's track athletes hit the pavement and made huge mileage gains that landed several of them in the coveted 10k range. Last week, Isaac Cervantes, Jaydin Borromeo, Paul Kasperek, Emmanuel Garcia, Marcus Cunanan, Marian Supapo, and Cristina Leanos all made the trek from Crystal out to the Jelly Belly Factory, where they refueled on candy samples before heading back and achieving new distance PR's - and a few shared school records - of 7.54 miles.
Just eight days later, Cervantes, Cunanan, and Borromeo were at it again, challenging themselves over Spring Break to be the first athletes to reach Fairfield High School since Alexandro Meza and Jared Rivera over a year earlier. They accomplished their goal, with Cervantes taking the 2nd all-time record at 9.47 miles and Cunanan notching the all-time 7th grade boys record of 9.22 miles. Think you've got what it takes to run far like these distance heroes? Or if speed is more your game, can you run fast like our awesome sprinters? Come be a part of something great! Our first day of practice is Wednesday, April 4th at 3:25pm in F-203. If you like making friends, having fun, and running fast, you won't want to miss out! |
|
11.30.17 |
XC and Track Teams Honored with Grant Award
|
|
Even without a bat or a ball, the Crystal Middle School cross country and track teams still managed to hit a home run last month when they were selected by KNBR and the San Francisco Giants to receive the Wells Fargo Step Up to the Plate for Education Award with a grant for $2,500. Yesterday, Mr. Sturgis and Mrs. Guernsey took a trip to AT&T Park with school record holders Marian Supapo and Alexandro Meza to accept the award in person. When they arrived, they were treated to a delicious breakfast and were given special track bags with water bottles to commemorate the event. The highlight of the day, though, was getting to meet the Giants' Golden Glove-winning shortstop Brandon Crawford, who emphasized the importance of hard work and dedication in achieving success. Since the Crystal Cougars are well known for some of their high-mileage workouts, Mr. Crawford confided they had him beat in that category: "I think I top out at about a mile, maybe a mile and a half," he said.
The cross country and track teams will be logging lots of miles pretty soon on brand-new GPS watches that will be funded by the grant. Additionally, the teams plan to buy a starter's pistol so that they can start their next season off with a bang - literally! |
|
11.6.17 |
Fullen, Leanos Reach 10k Milestone
|
|
Two of Crystal's top female runners put their endurance to the test last week with a trip all the way across Suisun City, all on their own two feet. 8th grader Cristina Leanos and 7th grader Paris Fullen both made the trek Thursday from Crystal to the edge of town on Highway 12 and back again, for a total distance of 6.50 miles - over a quarter-mile longer than a 10k, and nearly a mile further than the girls school record set one year ago. Both girls have been working hard since cross country ended, and have ambitions to hit double-digit mileage before the start of track season in April. Great job, ladies!
|
|
10.27.17 |
Cougars Conclude Season with Time Trial
|
|
Crystal Middle School's cross country athletes competed against themselves on Wednesday after a last-minute emergency left B. Gale Wilson unable to attend the two schools' final league meet of the season at the Suisun Watefront. With the course and volunteers already set up, the Cougars decided not to waste an opportunity to take one last shot at improving their own personal records. Abraham Perez closed out his season with a 17-second PR, which brought him the 7th grade school record and made him officially the 2nd Crystal athlete ever to complete the home course in under 9 minutes. Other athletes saw time improvements as well, but none more so than 8th grader Madayln Karcher, who achieved a nearly 3-minute PR over her previous performance on the course, bringing her time down to 16:29 from 19:19 within the span of less than 3 weeks.
With the 2017 cross country season now drawn to a close, Cougars who plan to compete on the track and field team in the spring should stay active throughout the winter - join the Crystal basketball team, or have fun exercising any way that works for you! If you have specific mileage goals you are trying to achieve before track starts, talk to Mr. Sturgis and he will help you create a plan. No matter how you decide to challenge yourself over the next few months, make sure to take some time to appreciate the journey! |
|
10.19.17 |
Crystal Athletes Take Top Spots at Falcon Invite, Doug Butt Memorial Race
|
|
With heavy smoke from the Wine Country fires forcing the cancellation of league competition for two consecutive weeks, some of Crystal's top runners found alternative ways to stay on top of their game, with two of them traveling as far as Sacramento to achieve optimal racing conditions. Cristina Leanos and Marian Supapo competed Saturday at the Falcon Middle School Invitational at Del Paso Regional Park, with finishing times of 10:49 and 10:55, respectively, on the 1.50-mile trail run.
Back in Fairfield four days later, the smoke subsided just enough for the annual Doug Butt Memorial Run to take place, and Crystal showed up strong, with Supapo taking the top spot in the 7th and 8th grade girls race, followed close by teammates Valeria Perez and Paris Fullen. In the boys race, Abraham Perez took 2nd place for 7th grade, while Jaydin Borromeo achieved 3rd in the 8th grade division. |
|
10.7.17 |
Return to Home Course Brings Big PR's
|
|
What a difference a year makes! That's certainly what 7th graders Amanda Johnston, Valeria Perez, Marian Supapo, and Christian Balthazor must have been thinking on Thursday as they notched impressive time improvements on their home course, racing it for the first time against Green Valley since the 2016 season. Striding through the Suisun Waterfront course in 10:29, Balthazor knocked 38 seconds off his previous best, while Supapo and Perez averaged 45-second improvements, scoring Supapo a new school record of 9:38 in the process. Johnston improved an astonishing 1 minute and 33 seconds over her previous year's performance, completing her race in 11:11. All four athletes credited their success to the hard work they have put in at practice.
Though only in his first year of cross country, 8th grader Isaac Cervantes finished first for the Cougar boys with a time of 9:07, vaulting him onto the school all-time list in the #2 spot. Also achieving the second-fastest record - but on the girls' leader board - was 8th grader Cristina Leanos, who completed the course in 10:27. |
|
9.27.17 |
Perez, Supapo Take First Against B. Gale Wilson
|
|
Temperatures well over 90 degrees did not stop the Crystal cross country teams as they visited B. Gale Wilson on Tuesday for a closely-contested pair of races that eventually saw 7th grader Abraham Perez take 1st place for the second week in a row, while simultaneously cutting down the school record set by Alexandro Meza last year by 3 seconds. 8th grader Antonio Pena stepped up to finish 2nd for the Cougar boys with a time of 9:08 on the 1.5 mile course. Afterward, Marian Supapo led her race once again, with the only finish under 10 minutes in the girls competition. She was followed by fellow 7th grade teammate Valeria Perez, who managed a 6-second PR despite the sweltering heat.
|
|
9.21.17 |
Boys and Girls Teams Dominate in First League Meet
|
|
The Crystal cross country teams cruised to early victories on Tuesday, facing Grange Middle School in both teams' first competition of the season. Becoming the very first racer to complete Grange's new, 1.4 mile course, newcomer Abraham Perez clocked a time of 9:33, followed closely by teammate Isaac Cervantes, who also finished in under 10 minutes. With the boys and girls races combined into one, Crystal's 3rd-place finisher was none other than 7th grade dynamo Marian Supapo. Supapo and teammates Cristina Leanos, Valeria Perez, and Paris Fullen kept a close pack throughout the race, with only about a 1-minute spread among the four athletes. This catapulted the girls to a win, while the boys achieved similar results, with the added bonus of attaining a perfect score of 15 points.
|
|
9.11.17 |
Strong Start for Crystal Cougars
|
|
With weeks to go until their first league competition, some Crystal cross country runners took matters into their own hands, racing in the Lagoon Valley and Ed Sias Invitationals over the past two weekends. Marian Supapo and Cristina Leanos earned medals for their performances at Lagoon Valley, while Brendan Duenas set a new PR despite record-breaking temperatures. Supapo also completed her first 2 mile race the following weekend, becoming the first Crystal athlete to brave the challenging, hilly Hidden Valley Park course at the famed Ed Sias Invite in Martinez.
With the season schedule now set, all eyes are on September 19th, when Crystal will go head-to-head with Grange at their first league competition of 2017. |
|
5.19.17 |
League Champions!
|
|
Months of hard work paid off in a big way for Crystal's track and field team at the middle school league championships on Wednesday, as both the boys and girls squads emerged triumphant over all the other schools in the district. With PR's in nearly every event, the Cougars put their dedication on display repeatedly over the course of the afternoon and evening. The ever-dependable distance trio of Nolan Nguyen, Raekwon Bell, and Alexandro Meza racked up points in the 1600m and 800m, with Nguyen just brushing the school record in the first event and breaking it in the latter -- both 1st-place performances for the 8th grader. Bell knocked approximately 10 seconds off his PR's in both events, then joined teammates Braulio Castillo, Mekhei Bryd, and David Dix to take 2nd place in the 4x400m relay and clinch the meet for the boys with a narrow but crucial 4 point lead over Green Valley. Byrd, participating in long jump for the first time, also took 2nd in that event.
A scorching girls 1600m resulted in yet another win and giant PR for 6th grade phenom Marian Supapo, who also took 1st in the 800m, soundly breaking the 3-minute barrier for the first time. Joining Supapo in the mile was 7th grader Cristina Leanos; in her debut distance race, the former sprinter Leanos took 2nd place in the race and 2nd place on Crystal's all-time list in the event with a time of 6:37.42. Olga Ochoa had a similar epiphany in another distance race, discovering she had what it took to finish 3rd in the 800m without ever having raced the event before. Ongrainna Harvey earned a PR and took 1st place in the 100m, and put forth a valiant effort in the 200m -- despite a severe knee pain leading to a limp, the 7th grader still took 1st in her heat, and 6th in the event overall. 8th grader Monifa Mills took 2nd in the event, and then immediately stepped up to fill the injured Harvey's 4x400m relay spot. Despite the back-to-back nature of the events, Mills anchored the relay team -- along with teammates Supapo, Leanos, and Mikayla Rodriguez -- to victory, taking first place in the final running event and securing a race time a quarter-minute faster than the team's previous best. A 2nd-place showing by Olivia Thompson in the shot put was icing on the cake as the girls cruised to the league title with a 23 point lead. We are extremely proud of all our track and field athletes -- congratulations on your well-deserved success! |
