Submitted by Lake Arrowhead Christian School Athletics
“Our sport is your sport’s punishment.” That’s a common slogan for cross-country teams, opting for a mentally and physically demanding athletic endeavor. There are no quick rewards like scoring (or stopping) a goal or getting on base with a hit. No rest or timeouts between plays.
Most of the training (and racing) is done in solitude or in groups of two or three, with not much precious breath left over for conversation.
That type of training is what 15 runners on the Lake Arrowhead Christian School cross-country team experienced the past three months, logging miles and dripping sweat, while also enjoying the challenge and rewards of the hard work.
Coach Renee Wetzel, herself an accomplished runner, guided these young fifth to eight-grade runners on a journey across dirt roads, up and down mountain trails and through two-mile races across hot Inland Empire valleys.
“I am so proud of the team for showing up every day and giving it their all. I couldn’t ask for a better group of runners,” said Coach Wetzel.
Many of the kids started their season competing in the Lake Gregory “Run through the Pines” race on August 9. They completed their season at the Mountain Valley Christian League finals on Nov. 4 at Lake Perris. Along the way, they raced at Temecula Linfield, Riverside Woodcrest Christian, the Riverside Ben Clark Training Center and at Mt. San Antonio College.
A few racers started fast and finished fast. Seventh-grade boy Ashton Guerich began the season with a time of 12:55 and peaked at league finals with a time of 12:33, placing him in a remarkable 17th place out of a whopping 294 middle school boys from 30 Southern California schools. Fifth- grade girl Allie Wetzel raced against older girls the entire season. She logged her best time (a sizzling 13:20) early in the season, nabbing seventh place in the Championship Division at the Woodcrest Invitational. Her time at the league finals race was 13:55, putting her in 17th place out of 276 racers. Watch for these two racers to finish near the top of standings next year.
Most of the Eagles runners saw dramatic drops in time. On the girls’ roster, Audrey Ewert (fifth grade) started the season with a time of 23:27 and finished with 16:04. Audrey Coe (fifth grade) dropped from 16:20 to 15:33. Stella Leonhardt (seventh grade) dropped her time from 19:51 to 16:54. Evolet Murrow (sixth grade) improved from 27:12 to 20:31. Sadie Pattison (seventh grade) dropped from 17:01 to 16:01. Olivia Briley (eighth grade) improved from 16:58 to 15:42. Makenzie Warford (eighth grade) went from 17:04 to 16:13. Amelia Pereira (seventh grade) also contributed as a “red-shirt” practice-squad runner.
Members of boys’ team also showed significant improvement. James Briley (seventh grade) dropped from 15:03 to 12:54. Logan Briley (fifth grade) lowered his time from 14:37 to 12:52. Jameson Padilla (fifth grade) trimmed his time from 19:13 to 17:05. Logan Palmer (fifth grade) shaved his time from 17:40 to 17:12. Newcomer Evan Netherly (eighth grade) posted his best time (15:26) early in the season.
Coach Wetzel has a lot to look forward to in the fall of 2026, with most of her runners returning. They will be a year older and should improve on the clock and in the standings, as most of them ran against older opponents. Keep your “eagle-eyes” open for these LACS racers next year!
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