Sophomore Kiley Barch Captures Berth in State Qualifier

The Blue Devil varsity girls’ cross country team is off and running with head coach Elizabeth Andersen. Huntington has one of its biggest rosters in several seasons with nine runners being freshmen and sophomores.

The Blue Devils trained over the summer, but really picked up the pace on August 21 when practice officially kicked-off. Since then the team has been engrossed in getting in tip-top condition and reducing their times daily.

The squad consists of freshmen Piper Davis, Julia Goodwin, Cassandra Guevara Jandre and Kaylee Mata; sophomores Kiley Barch, Emma Boyle, Rachel Huth, Mabelin Maldonado Licona and Kiera McGuire; and seniors Jessica Kuom, Damaris Mani-Munoz, Andrea Mani-Munoz and Jannel Marroquin.

Barch captured a berth in the Section XI state qualifier later this fall after posting a personal best time last Friday at the Bob Pratt Invitational at Sunken Meadow State Park. The teenager swept around the 5000m course in a time of 21.41.40 to place 28th in a field of 226. It was a great performance by an up and coming runner.

“Cross country has been great so far,” said Marroquin, who has been named team captain. “There have been team bonding activities, which has allowed the team to feel like a family. The team has also been putting full effort into every practice, which is reflected in our race performances. Even if we have only had two races under our belts I can already see how strong this team is. Our freshman are doing incredible despite it being their first time running these distances at Sunken Meadow. Our sophomores are doing amazing and the seniors are trying to make the most of our last season. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season has in store.”