Cross Country began their meets in February for their season, after months of delay due to COVID-19 regulations. 

  On Saturday, Feb. 6, both boys and girls cross country ran their first meet since the quarantine in March. The ANHS boys XC went against Dana Hills. ANHS girls XC competed against San Juan Hills. 

  The meet took place on the ANHS track and continued along the Aliso Creek trail. Family members were allowed to watch the runners, as long as they maintained social-distancing guidelines. All participants and spectators were required to wear masks if they were not running.

  Emily Richards (12) won the girls meet with a time of 17:53. Brennan Foody (11) came in second place in the boys race with a time of 15:33.2. 

  Emily Richards was interviewed for ABC7 and Brennan Foody was mentioned in the Orange County Register.

  The girls XC competed against Tesoro High School on Feb. 20. On March 6, they will compete against Capistrano Valley High School. There is also a potential for a league finals competition on March 13.

  Meets are normally large invitationals where 100 to 200 runners compete in a race that takes place at a park or a high school. To follow COVID safety, only about 14 runners are on each start line in events taking place on the ANHS campus. 

  “Although the environment on race day is definitely different, we are all very excited to be competing again! It was so rewarding to finally have an opportunity to demonstrate all of our hard work, after just training and waiting for a while,” Emily Richards stated. 

  She had also “missed the feeling of accomplishment that can come from a race and the getting to celebrate with your teammates after.”

  Practices for cross country runners began in late August and are expected to continue up until March.