This year Ridgeviews Cross Country team is filled with hard workers. This year’s talent is anticipated to be one of the hardest opponents in the league to face. Coach Triandous Hobson, who himself was a part of Cross Country in high school, is prepared to guide his athletes to another successful season.
One of this year’s top runners is Sophomore Owen Phelps, although he is just in his second year at Ridgeview, he has been doing cross country for nine years. Phelps, who was introduced to cross country in the second grade, loves to run. While having lots of friends on the team he finds the practices very fun and exciting. His goal for this season is to, “break 16 minutes.” Owen stated one of his main motivations is, “that he loves to win” and the thing he loves doing best in his races is, “taking home medals.” He prioritizes practicing and avoiding junk food on a daily basis in order to maintain his speed and stamina. He encourages more people to join because, “it’s fun and you get into shape.”
Another one of this year’s best runners for Ridgeview is Sophomore Sophia Espinoza and this is only her second year doing cross country. She was initially interested in joining cross country, “to stay fit for soccer”. After hearing about it from her brother’s friends, she now finds the sport enjoyable. This season, her main goal is to PR. Espinoza most enjoys hanging out at the races and the aftermath of them. The opportunity to race at Pismo was her favorite running experience to date. Cross Country can be very demanding on the body so to prevent injury she “Always stays hydrated”. To someone who may be considering joining Cross Country Espinoza stated, “To join it’s really fun and everyone is always welcome.”
After serving as head coach for the last five years, Coach Triandous Hobson has been coaching cross country for six years. He loves seeing the kids, “show up everyday and get better.” His coach in high school made a huge impact on him and is still a mentor today. Usually 30 or 40 people come out, but coach Hobson would love more. “It is a great way to stay in shape, for basketball, soccer etc,” says Hobson. This year the team has a lot of courage, discipline and sacrifice. It’s difficult with practice being at six in the morning, but the kids always show up and come to improve. What makes this year different from others is that the team is ridiculously young compared to past cross country teams with only five to six seniors this year. The toughest team in town is BHS due to them having two of the fastest kids in the valley. Coach Hobson states, “One goal is to have fun, I want to make it be the best part of their day, and make the team aspect fun.”
With last season taking third in league for both boy’s and girl’s, this year they have bigger goals and bigger visions. This team has been working hard all summer long to ensure that they are in the best possible shape they could be in. We’re excited to watch them compete for the league championship.
