We met the Canyon Cross Country team, from Canyon Country, CA, at their condo parking lot. In the parking lot, the girl’s coach, Chris Jackson, showed us the back of the team trailer where the names of all the greats of Canyon XC are printed. The names include David Hartman, who ran the Kinney Championship in 1990, ran at Villanova and coaches at UTSA. Alysia Johnson Montano who ran at California and won the USATF 800-meters six different times. Lauren Fleshman who won cross country, 800-, 1600- and 3200-meter California State tiles in her senior season. Fleshman was an All-American at Stanford and successful professional runner. Coach Jackson takes pride that Montano and Fleshman have been advocates for female athletes.
As we waited for all the runners to finish the run, the boys told us about a team tradition of the boys cooking a meal for the girls and the girls cooking a different for the boys. Last year the boys cooked breakfast for dinner, and it was big success!
We visited on the second run of the day for the varsity and the first run for the JV runners at the camp. The team ran around Lake Mamie which is nearly 9,000 feet above sea level. Boys’ cross country coach George Velarde explained the team camp.
Coach Velarde: This now my 29th year bringing my team here in Mammoth. It is more for the team bonding. We are here for ten days. We do not get the real or true elevation benefits, but it is more about team bonding. All the athletes earn the right to come to camp with all the mileage and workouts we do in the summer.
We stay in condos; the same condos for the last twenty years. Before the condos we stayed at the Ponderosa, which is a big three-story Airbnb. It no longer exists so that is why we are in the current condos, and it works out really well.
We like to go swimming and play volleyball. Tonight, we are sketching, you know, drawing. We have a talent show at the end of the camp or “untalented” show. We used to have a dance back when we were at the Ponderosa, but with the condos we can’t do that anymore.
We have a ten-day camp for our varsity runners and three days into camp, we have a seven-day junior varsity camp.
We asked athletes about team camp and the season.
Isi Eichie – I like soaking a lot. It is good to get out of your comfort zone like the ice baths at home. I like the game nights a lot.
Brianna Campbell – Probably bonding with my teammates throughout the day and just laughing with them in the condos.
Cynthia Herrera – My highlight of camp is being able to run the beautiful trails with my teammates and trying not to get lost!
Nathan Parras – I like going on the trails and being up high and seeing below.
Eric Leal– I like being with my teammates and doing my best every day to get better.
What are looking for forward to during cross country season?
Isi – I like when we go to races and after the races and if we run well, is the drove home. It is really fun.
Brianna – A really fun thing about cross country is the long runs with the girls, especially if we have speakers because you can’t get bored when you have music.
Cynthia – I look forward to working real hard with my teammates to make it to CIF Finals. If we make it to CIF Finals, our coaches take us out to a fancy dinner. That is the best!
Nathan – The highlight is the long workouts like quarter repeats, one-mile repeats and two-mile repeats. Also, the long runs where we give it our all.
Eric – I like that felling after the workout where I feel like I did good today. Also, after a race, you know, that I did my best and that I am going to get better.
Check out Canyon’s run around Lake Mamie in Mammoth HERE
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