Phillips second in middle school cross country race

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The Oct. 7 North County Middle School Cross Country League meet at San Marcos Middle School included a second-place finish by Sullivan sixth-grader Finn Phillips and second-place team finishes by the Sullivan sixth/seventh grade boys and Sullivan sixth/seventh grade girls.

The 2021 Wildcats have 10 boys and 10 girls on the team. "This is my smallest team I've ever had, but they're solid younger runners," said Sullivan coach Tamara Miller.

Miller, who began teaching at Sullivan in 2014, founded the Wildcats' cross country team in 2015. The 2015 team had 15 runners, and Miller increased the 2016 total to 33 harriers. "Usually I have 50 plus runners," Miller said.

The coronavirus shutdown eliminated 2020-21 competitions for the North County Middle School Cross Country League, so Sullivan has only one ru

Cross country team scores add the positions of a school's first five finishers; the sixth and seventh runners are not scored but can add points to opponents' totals. A minimum of five runners in a race is required for a team score, and this year Sullivan only has three eighth-grade boys and two eighth-grade girls. The North County Middle School Cross Country League has races for sixth/seventh grade boys, sixth/seventh grade girls, eighth-grade boys, and eighth-grade girls.

"I have pretty solid sixth/seventh grade boys," Miller said.

All races Oct. 7 utilized a 1.65-mile course. San Marcos Middle School won the sixth/seventh grade boys race with 43 points. Sullivan accumulated 57 points. San Elijo Middle School in San Marcos was third with 81 points.

The North County Middle School Cross Country League championship meet will take place Oct. 28 at Kit Carson Park. "The boys I feel have a real strong shot at securing first," Miller said. "I've been working with the boys on starting and improving their endurance."

Lyndon Morelos of Double Peak Middle School in San Marcos won the race in 10:36.44. "We're working on a strategy where Finn is staying behind him," Miller said.

Phillips had a time of 10:40.36 and decreased Morelos' lead in the final 800 meters. "He definitely closed in on him in the last 800," Miller said. "I'm working a lot with Finn on his sprinting, his final sprint."

The third-place finisher, Nathan Smith of Double Peak, had a 10:55.46 performance.

Sullivan had two other runners in the top 10: seventh-grader David Peel had the eighth-place time of 11:30.36 and seventh-grader Austin Deschamps took 10th place with a time of 11:34.77. A time of 12:04.46 gave seventh-grader Isaac Tyler 17th place. Seventh-grader Hunter Dean had a time of 12:53.03 which was worth 26th place. Sixth-grader Dylan Ortega completed the course in 13:46.02 for 42nd place. Seventh-grader Shay Marsaglia was the 52nd finisher and took 15:15.25.

Improvement rather than a championship is this year's goal for the Sullivan sixth/seventh grade girls. "I'm really working to build them as runners and getting them closer to first place," Miller said.

The fifth San Elijo runner, Sierra Thornbury, had a time of 12:05.10. Sullivan seventh-grader Trulie Eisenhauer finished in 12:05.71 for seventh place. Sullivan also had the 10th, 11th, 14th, and 20th finishers with seventh-grader Scarlett Zaleschuk taking 12:31.53, sixth-grader Hayley Rocha completing the course in 12:33.25, sixth-grader Nylee Huntington finishing in 12:47.41, and seventh-grader Shailyn Cope posting a time of 13:16.34.

Sullivan's sixth finisher, seventh-grader Emma Votaw, was 46th overall with a time of 14:44.22. Seventh-grader Anjali Rameschwar became the 55th finisher 15:20.24 after the race began. The 58th overall finisher, sixth-grader Isabell Gunther, posted a time of 15:37.33.

Sullivan's fastest eighth-grade boy, Henry Walter, was 38th overall at 13:13.07. Colton Gullo was the 46th finisher in that race and had a time of 14:41.22. Alan Smith finished 57th and took 19:05.86.

Alice Ho finished 10th in the eighth-grade girls race with a time of 13:00.94. Isabella Homberger was 16th and took 13:53.00.

"I adore this team. They work so hard. They show up every day. They continually listen and improve," Miller said. "I look forward to watching their growth over the next two to three years."