Knights XC finds success while hosting SCAC meet

ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights cross country team hosted a late season South Central Athletic Conference meet at Royal City Golf Course Wednesday afternoon. The team competed hard with the boys finishing in third and the girls taking second in their 5k runs. 

“It was a really tough race, it’s hot and there’s hills,” said Knights senior Valierie Rodriguez. “Overall we did good as a team. We tried to stick together towards the beginning; later on we faltered a little bit, but we still finished strong and gave it what we’ve got.” 

The Knights girls squad scored 46 points to take second as a team and stayed just ahead of College Place, who took third with 47 points.

“I was proud of our ladies,” said Knights Head Coach Ben Orth. “They just keep showing improvement which is what you want to see.” 

Wednesday’s race was without one of Royal’s top varsity runners, junior Caylee Guerrero. Orth said the rest of the girls picked up on all ends in her absence.  

Rebecca Carlson, a senior for the Knights, was Royal’s top runner for the girls as she led the team through the latter half of the course. This effort resulted in a seventh-place finish and as a personal best for Carlson (22:02.0). 

“The PRs are hard to come by your senior year as you’ve had a lot of races under your belt,” said Orth. “I wouldn’t necessarily say that our course is an incredibly fast course, so it was great to see her get a PR.” 

Coming in right after Carlson was Valeria Rodriguez in eighth (22:22.0) for a season best, freshman Broklyn Orth in ninth (22:27.0) for a PR and sophomore Akleigh Hebdon in 10th (22:44.0) for a season best. Senior Sarah Freeman followed behind in 12th (23:03.0) for a season best. 

“It was pretty good,” said Carlson. “We’re still trying to peak and build off of what we did (Wednesday), but it was a good spot in the season and good placing wise with others in the league.” 

The boys team had an overall score of 64 points, putting them just behind Connell at 60 points and College Place in first at 41 points. 

“Connell’s got a great young crew of boys coming up, but I was extremely proud (of the Knights),” said Orth. “Our top two boys, Fabrizio Ramirez and Juan Mendoza, they ran their best races of the year.” 

Ramirez, a senior, had a solid run on the course with a fifth-place finish (17:56.0) for a PR. Right behind him was Juan Mendoza who finished in sixth (18:07.0). 

Both Ramirez and Mendoza outpaced athletes from opposing teams that had beaten them earlier this season, Orth said. 

“They’re both seniors and really nice young men, and their goal is to try to qualify for the state championships,” said the coach. “It’s a tall task, there’s a lot of good runners and if they keep performing like that and keep making improvements, it’s well within their reach.” 

Orth said the rest of the boys varsity lineup continued to show improvement in Wednesday’s meet and is proud of the hard work that they’ve put in this season. 

Knights junior Angel Trujillo finished 18th (19:39.0) for a PR and freshman Anson Carlson finished 21st (19:49.0) for a PR. 

“It’s always fun when you get to this part of the season and you see those PRs coming across the results,” said Orth. “I’m proud of them for that.” 

Royal’s Wednesday meet was also their senior night as they celebrated the nine seniors on the team. 

For the girls, Orth said Carlson, Rodriguez and Freeman have made strong contributions to the program over the years. Their hard work during training helps serve as an inspiration to the younger athletes to work even harder and translates to good runs across the board. 

“We’ve got three really awesome young ladies, and they just help lead that charge,” said the coach. 

On the boys side, the top two senior runners Ramirez and Mendoza have both made huge strides in their time on the team. 

“Fabrizio Ramirez, he’s a really unique kid,” said Orth. “Last year was his first year in Royal and he didn’t know any English. What a challenging way to transition into the middle of high school, coming into a school you’ve never been to before.” 

The coach said Ramirez happened upon the cross-country team during his first summer in Royal City while the team was doing workouts. From there he ended up joining the team and has been a great addition ever since.  

“He’s kind of a quieter guy, although he’s got a little jokester side of him too,” he said. “He’s really fun to watch and if you’re anywhere near him at the finish line, you’re in trouble because he has exceptional top end speed, so he can close the gap.” 

Mendoza joined the Knights during his sophomore season with little experience for cross country, said Orth. Over the years he has steadily improved himself and is now a top runner in his senior year. 

“He just really wants to make it to state in his senior year,” said the coach. “That is the goal this year, to see if he can do it.” 

As the Knights head into the final weeks of the season, both athletes and coaches alike are confident and excited about what they’ve been seeing. For Carlson and Rodriguez, their hearts are set on getting into the state qualifier. 

“We’re in a good spot where we definitely have a chance and that’s what we keep trying to work toward,” said Carlson. “Just keep building off more good workouts and good races.” 

“The beginning of this year was pretty rough,” said Rodriguez. “We were still unsure if we even had a good chance of qualifying for state, but as races go on and we go hard on the hard days and go easy on the easy days, I feel like we’ve definitely seen improvement and hoping for the best for districts.” 

While Orth said he is very proud of the times that each of his athletes are putting out in the final weeks of the season, what pleases him the most about the team is how they’ve developed as people. 

“They’re a great group of kids, beyond their running,” said the coach. “It’s even more important to me who they are as young men and young women. As far as their running is concerned, I’m very pleased to see that we’re improving. It’s easy to level out, but these kids keep getting better and that’s the biggest thing.” 

The Knights prepare for the SCAC League Championship meet next Saturday, October 24, at Wahluke High School with races starting at noon. 

Results 

Boys 5k Varsity/JV 

5 – Fabrizio Ramirez, 17:56.0 

6 – Juan Mendoza, 18:07.0 

15 – Jorge Hernandez, 19:22.0 

18 – Angel Trujillo, 19:39.0 

20 – Kevin Mendoza, 19:48.0 

21 – Anson Carlson, 19:49.0 

23 – Emmanuel Luis Reyes, 20:07.0 

31 – Daniel Gama, 20:53.0 

34 – Eli Christensen, 21:00.0 

35 – Ricardo Garcia, 21:07.0 

37 – Walker Eyre, 21:22.0 

40 – Daniel San German, 21:29.0 

46 – Moises Castro, 21:58.0 

52 – Kevin Montoya, 23:02.0 

63 – Bryson Piper, 25:53.0 

65 – Sam Allred, 26:22.0 

66 – William Amado, 26:52.0 

70 – Jacob Resendis, 28:12.0 

72 – Jayce Hansen, 28:55.0 

Girls 5k Varsity/JV 

7 – Rebecca Carlson, 22:02.0 

8 – Valeria Rodriguez, 22:22.0 

9 – Brooklyn Orth, 22:27.0 

10 – Akleigh Hebdon, 22:44.0 

12 – Sarah Freeman, 23:03.0 

18 – Yanise Rincon, 24:33.0 

19 – Emma Yorgeson, 24:48.0 

20 – Genevieve Monge, 26:16.0 

25 – Chesnie Weeks, 27:24.0 

    Rebecca Carlson, a senior for the Knights, leads her team as she finished her race with a PR Wednesday afternoon.
  

    Knights junior Yanise Rincon jogs along Royal City Golf Course during Wednesday’s SCAC meet.
  

    Fabrizio Ramirez, a Royal senior, sprints ahead to be a top five finisher at the SCAC meet Wednesday.
  

    Knights senior Ricardo Garcia prepares to run his final loop around Royal City Golf Course during the SCAC meet.
  

    Royal XC Head Coach Ben Orth instructs the boys varsity/JV runners on their course ahead of the race Wednesday afternoon.