Whitman College Cross Country Team 2015
It’s barely September, and already Monta Vista cross-country alumni are starting to make a mark on college teams from coast-to-coast!
At UC Irvine, Pearl Law (MVXC12, and older sister of current MVXC team member Ruby Law), opened her season as the Anteaters’ fifth runner with a 19:52 over the tough UCI Invitational course. Just up the road in Pasadena, Rohan Choudhury (MVXC15) won the praise of his coach at CalTech as he ran the second fastest time ever by a CalTech runner at the Redlands Invitational.
Far to the North, Isabel LaPlain reports from Walla Walla, Washington that her teammates are a crackup and the athletic facilities at Whitman College are first rate. Isabel has a pack of teammates to run with and she is sure she has chosen the right college!
John Hsiao (MVXC14) has made the XC team at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and ran in his first college race, the Flower City Opener, while out in Boston, Jenny Xu (MVXC15, and big sister to current MVXC runner Jeffrey Xu) is still waiting for her first intercollegiate race when MIT opens the season at the Purple Valley Classic later this month. In the meantime, Jenny has already made a statement as the second freshman finisher in the MIT Alumnae Meet. In western Massachusetts at lovely Mt. Holyoke College, Sunny Shan (MVXC14) also awaits her first meet of the season–the Smith Invitational, hosted by Smith College, where Richelle Ju (MVTF14) will come out and cheer Sunny on! Julia Chang (MVXC15), who has joined Bridget Gottlieb (MVXC14, and current runner Aidan Gottlieb’s older sister) at Johns Hopkins University, opened her career last week with a season opener at Stevenson College, where Julia scored a top ten finish in her first start with what looks to be a fast group of Bluejay women!
These are not all the MVXC alumni out there running in college, several others will be getting rolling soon. Everyone is reporting that their teammates are a great support system and a ‘family’ as our alums get settled in college. Stay in touch with your friends and let them know you are watching, your friendship and support means a lot to these athletes!
There is no easy path to excellence, all of these athletes have run many, many hard miles over several years to get to where they are right now. With hard work and persistence, can go far yourself!