Photos used with permission by Coach Kirk Flatow.

Sophomore Aidan Gottlieb recalled on the way to the annual Mt. SAC Invitational, team members would play the Nintendo DS and games such as Cards Against Humanity. Everyone sang Taylor Swift songs on the bus, including “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story.”

By first period on Friday, Oct. 24, 38 cross country members were already halfway to Walnut, CA for their two-day race at the Mt. SAC Invitational. Any runners who regularly practiced and showed dedication to the sport had the chance to attend the two day race from Oct. 24 to Oct. 25.

Mt. SAC is hosted by Mt. San Antonio college and was started in 1948. It is one of the largest cross country meets in the world, with over 25,000 runners participating each year. The course, which is 2.93 miles in distance and features three hills, has changed little in the past 66 years. The MVHS team has been attending the race for four years and has shown improvement every year.

There were many firsts for the MVHS cross country team at this year’s race. Varsity girls won the championship and the freshman girls placed third. This is the first time MVHS has placed first at Mt. SAC and the first time a non-varsity team secured a podium finish. Sophomore Parvarthi Meyyappan won first place, with a time of 20:48.6 for the sophomore girls division and senior Jenny Xu placed first in her division, with a time of 17:58.6. Both girls brought home two cowbells, the bell hung around a cow’s neck, which was reserved for the first individual to cross the finish line. Senior Rohan Choudhury ran 16:04, the second fastest time ever recorded by a MVHS boy at Mt. SAC. In all, the team won two cowbells, two team plaques and more than 20 individual  medals.

“I think the team performed wonderfully,” Coach Kirk Flatow said. “Four years ago, the first year that we went, we were just a dozen kids sweating on a piece of blue plastic. Now we have almost 40 kids, two tents and we are spread out on this big camp. ”

Apart from the race itself, the runners enjoyed bonding outside of the meet.

“Staying at the hotel is always really fun,” Meyappan said. “I was in a room with people who were early birds like me, so we always got early to eat breakfast and take showers before the race. It was great to be here a second year.”

The team dined together at California Pizza Kitchen and Macaroni Grill.

“One of my favorite part of the trip is the food,” said junior Anna Hsiao. “We ordered pasta and pizza to share at California Pizza Kitchen, and it was delicious.”

In addition to the racing and bonding experience, the team improved their times from the previous year with many runners running a personal record.

“I can’t put into words on how proud I am of these kids,” Flatow said. “They work hard and keep wanting to do even more. Mt. SAC is a good time to reflect on that because it is such a big meet. It makes me think of how lucky I am to be a coach of these kids.”

The next meet is the Lynbrook Invitational at Lynbrook High School on Oct. 30.