Cross Country coach expects success

by Carmille Garica and Jacqueline Tieu, staff writers

Through Mammoth, Palm Springs, and the countless summer miles they ran, both the girls and boys cross country teams readied themselves for another exciting and successful season. We caught up with Coach Martin Baratti to ask a few questions.

 

 

Baron Banner: What can we expect from this year\’s cross country team?

Coach Baratti: Success, definitely success.  The girls are going to qualify for state and have a shot at winning the CIF title again.  The boys will have a chance at winning Sunset League and going to state.  I believe this success will have a lot to due with the hard summer training we\’ve done.

BB: Who do you think will do well this season, any possible record breakers?

CB: Michelle Urata will work towards the all time summer mileage record, maybe going over 3800 to 4000 career miles.  During the season, we will definitely have some stars to watch.  For the girls, there will be Lauren Erickson, Carmille Garcia, Erika Recupero and Rachel Sunico.  The guys will have Luis Morales, Kaz Nishikawa, Christian Olive, and Austin Isrealsky.  A lot of our guys will be under 16 minutes and our top seven girls are going to be sub 18:30 for three miles. This is extremely fast.

BB: How many miles have the girls/guys team done this summer?

CB: Combined, 2,500 easy for both the girls and guys.  I\’d say about 1,500 miles for the girls and 1,800 for the boys.

BB: Since most of the last year\’s fastest athletes were seniors, how will this impact the team this year?

CB: It\’s unfortunate but it is not going to slow us down. Period.  Losing the seniors did impact the leadership on the team, but talent-wise we are still not missing a beat.  We are reloading.  We are going to keep upholding our tradition of excellence.

BB: What do you personally think is the main attribute to success in running?

CB: Dedication, leadership by the seniors and the top runners, and a positive attitude keep us going forward and having fun.

BB: Who will be FV\’s biggest competitors this year?

CB: Esperanza and Edison are always the biggest competitors.  However, Marina is getting better and Saugus is at the top of the mountain as well.  We\’re still pretty much the team that everybody wants to beat though.

BB: Thank you for your time and good luck with this season.

CB: No problem.