[Boys Varsity athletes are competing. Photo Credit: Yujun Lee]

The Ed Sias Cross Country Invitational was held at Hidden Valley Park in Martinez, California, on Saturday, September 9th, 2023.

Athletes from different high schools across the Northern California region participated in the race.

Because cross country is typically a fall and winter season sport, and since the race was held in early September, the Ed Sias Cross Country Invitational stands out as one of the first cross country competitions of the sports season.

Moreover, with the race’s two-mile course, relatively shorter compared to other high school cross country races, it is a great place for the coaches and the teams to have a sense of athletes' individual abilities.

Cross country involves athletes running on a course of natural terrain, consisting of grass and dirt.

First began in England in the mid-19th century, cross country is primarily played in Europe, North America, and several other countries around the world.

The sport was introduced to the United States in the late 19th century, the sport held its first national championships in 1890.

The Ed Sias Cross Country Invitational, encompassing both cross country and track and field, began in 2001.

The distance of each cross country course ranges from 2 miles to 7 miles, depending on the division and the race.

For high school athletes in the United States, courses are usually either 3 miles or 5 kilometers.

Cross country is a team sport, with team rankings based on the records of individual athletes.

The first five runners of each team to complete the race are scoring members, and the sum of their individual ranks becomes the team’s score, with the team achieving the lowest total score emerging as the winner.

The Ed Sias Cross Country Invitational comprises 12 different divisions.

First, the Boys’ Frosh division is run by high school freshmen boys.

Second, the Frosh Soph division is run by high school freshmen and sophomore athletes, further divided into Boys’ and Girls' divisions.

Third are Boys’ and Girls’ Varsity divisions, and lastly, there are Boys’ and Girls’ Junior Varsity divisions.

These divisions have a runner limit of 7, meaning each team can have a maximum of seven runners, with five of them considered scoring runners.

Additionally, there are Boys’ and Girls’ Frosh Soph & Junior Varsity Overflow divisions, where there is no runner limit.

“I think this invitational is a great start of this season for me. I will continue on improving to perform better in future invitationals,” said Joshua Lim, a sophomore at Homestead High School.

Competing in the Boys’ Frosh Soph division, Lim finished the race in second place, with a record of 10:55.50.

With several years of running experience, Lim aims to practice harder to significantly improve his record.

Likewise, for other athletes, regardless of their experience and skills, the Ed Sias Cross Country Invitational became a chance to gain insight into their current standing and areas for improvement throughout the season.