Carson senior Jinnie Ponczoch competes at Lampe Park during the Douglas Class Races to open the season in late August. Ponczoch and the Senators’ girls cross country team have their sights set on a third consecutive state title this fall.
Photo by Ron Harpin.
After winning back-to-back 5A state titles, it’s only natural to dream of a third.
The Carson High School girls cross country team has already cemented its legacy, but no one on this season’s squad is settling for what’s been accomplished in the past.
“Every year we are hoping to win regionals and state and we are just working toward that at this point,” said senior Jinnie Ponczoch.
The team still has six weeks before the regional meet, which will be held Oct. 25 at Rancho San Rafael Park in Reno, but there are big events the team is training for in the meantime.
Next weekend, Carson will compete at the 43rd annual Woodbridge Invitational in Orange County against some of the best high school runners in the country.
They have another overnight trip to the Clovis Invite in early October, too.
“I think we are all looking forward to Woodbridge next week. That’s going to be really exciting,” said junior Brianna Rodriguez-Nunez.
“I feel like we are all generally excited for the overnight meets. We are able to hang out as a team,” added Ponczoch.
CHALLENGES AND CONDITIONING
The Carson girls attribute a lot of their success to their summer workout programs, which have been methodical for the last several years.
A newer adaptation for the team this year has been cross training, using swimming, biking or another endurance activity that doesn’t produce the same wear and tear on the body as distance running.
“Cross-training really helped because we weren’t trying to get to our top mileage right away,” said Rodriguez-Nunez. “Not only are we using other parts of our body to train, but it’s helping us in a lot of different ways.”
The summer training is a way for the Senators to be built up when the season rolls around while also remaining fresh for a long, grueling fall campaign.
“Where our talents lack is where our training comes in,” said senior Eleanor Romeo.
Even with the cross-training, the team is still amassing hundreds of miles over the summer.
“It’s a lot. It’s a lot of miles, like all summer. We have to try and work our way up,” said junior Madison Hager.
ROSTER (ALMOST) RETURNS
After having all seven varsity competitors finish in the top 14 at last year’s regional meet, the Senators will be without their top finisher all season.
Hannah Budd, who took third last fall at regionals, will be sidelined this fall after breaking her femur over the summer.
However, everyone else from last year’s regional team has returned — Rodriguez-Nunez, Ponczoch, Hager, Romeo, Vea Miner and Anna Shane.
It’ll be a challenge for the Senators to keep putting up first-place finishes without one of their quickest runners, but Carson is coming off a team win at the Nevada Union Invitational this past weekend.
That event featured three other Northern 5A programs, giving the Senators an early look at some of their local competition.
As the season goes on, the Senators will have a better idea of exactly what kind of times they’ll need to produce at this year’s state meet to win another state title.
The 5A state meet will be held in Boulder City on Nov. 2.
(Carson High’s Vea Miner (53) and Brianna Rodriguez-Nunez (54) run during the Class 5A regional cross country meet last season at Ranch San Rafael Park in Reno. Right behind those two are Jinnie Ponczoch (55) and Madison Hager (51). Carter Eckl / Nevada Appeal)