BRENTWOOD - Not even the steadily increasing rain storm on Thursday afternoon could dampen the spirits of the runners who toed the starting line from Heritage and Liberty High School, as high school athletes returned to interscholastic competition in the North Coast Section for the first time since March 13, 2020.
The two teams will face each other in an official Bay Valley Athletic League dual meet in mid-March, but took the opportunity for some early competition, staying on the track at Heritage for a traditional 3200 meter track race, opposed to utilizing the Patriots' home 5,000-meter cross country course. Liberty senior Keene Sample shrugged off the wet and cold conditions, in his first return to competition action following an injury-plagued junior year in which he was unable to compete at the 2019 league championships. Sample used the opening pace to dip under 10 minutes for his final time, running 9:58 to finish first among the field.
"It felt special being able to compete against not only my teammates, but the other team as well," Sample said. "Everyone has worked so hard to get sports and competition back to our area. It was great being able to race confident and healthy again after being injured for such a long time."
Liberty made it a clean sweep of the individual titles, as junior Kiran McWilliams overtook Heritage senior Renny Buchanan for a two-second victory in the girls' race, with her time of 12:49. Buchanan led for the first mile, but had McWilliams on her hip for the entire race until the Lions' junior who was a second-team all-league honoree last season made her improvement visible to everyone.
"Being able to compete felt unreal, relieving and something that I've been looking forward to for so long," McWilliams said. "The combination of not having a cross country race in over a year, and the months of training, is what motivated me to stay focused on my race and push through the pain. I feel that having the team back together and the support of one another led to many great successes to start the season."
Liberty coach Eric Morford had plenty of reasons to be pleased with the way his team ran, but the two Brentwood schools also displayed their competitive balance throughout the roster, even with each team missing a top runner or two. Heritage placed all five of its top finishers in the top eight of the boys race, led by junior James Woolery, who placed third behind Sample and Liberty sophomore Matias Rogers. On the girls' side, Buchanan was trailed by Heritage sophomore Chloe Beck, who edged Liberty sophomore Karyss Mendes for third place. The depth displayed by both teams was one of the more impressive parts of the day, as these athletes have been ready to go since their traditional fall season.
"It took an incredible amount of dedication for our students to stay ready for this delayed cross country season," said Morford, who also runs the Brentwood-based Delta Limitless running club and trains athletes from multiple schools in the area. "Both Kiran and Keene are perfect examples of how months and months of hard work can pay off."
The non-league dual meet between the schools kicked off a shortened season which has plans to culminate at the end of March with traditional league championships following a league-only dual meet schedule.
"Even though it's been almost a year since we have been able to race as a team, I am looking forward to seeing how well everyone throughout our program does this season," added Sample, who was a first-team all-league finisher as a sophomore.
That sentiment is likely reflected with enthusiasm across the league, the section and the state, as athletes everywhere look to embrace an actual return to the competitive arena.
