Espinoza And Krasa Go Wire To Wire At Skunk Creek Landfill
Sandra Day O'Connor hosted the Deer Valley District Meet on their home course at the Skunk Creek Landfill less than a mile away from their school.
The girls' varsity race had no seniors, as was dominated by freshman and sophomores among the top fifteen finishers. Madeline Davis (So.) led the charge for the Eagles clocking in at 20:36 to clinch the District Title. Nya Valenzuela (Deer Valley, Fr.) finished second as the only other girl under 21-minutes on the course. Abigail Proffit (Mountain Ridge, Fr.) came through in 21:09 to place third for the Lions.
With help from Allena Fugatt, Alexis Hodge, Madison Davis, and Amelia Long, the Sandra Day O'Connor girls collected 32 points. The Eagle girls had won their first District Title since 2016.
In the Boys Varsity race, we watched the returning District champion and runner-up go head to head around the landfill. Hunter Krasa pressed the pace early on knowing that Randy Espinoza would be able kick for the finish. Though Espinoza had not expected the pace to be as hard as it was, he stuck right with Krasa down to the final half-mile and flew past him to seize the victory over Krasa, both of them kicking up dirt on the home stretch as they crossed the finish in 15:50 to 15:51.
Austin Clayton finished third place almost a minute later, followed by Joshua Judd. Meanwhile, Nick Olson and Jacob Bruch of Deer Valley flanked finished fifth and sixth in the race, with Noah Flemming coming through as the last guy under 17-minutes.
Though Mountain Ridge entered the race as favorites, Deer Valley pulled out the stops to just barely edge out the Lions.
"We were supposed to score 41 points and we scored 34. From a team that placed 4th last year, to beat kids that they weren't supposed to beat on paper, it's all we ask of our athletes, as coaches, said Deer Valley Head Coach Kevin Reagle."