Abby girls run at Marshfield, Colby

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Abbotsford girls cross country team ran at two meets over the past week, taking on the course in Marshfield last Tuesday before competing in Colby on Saturday morning.

Going up against a number of top programs in Marshfield, the Falcons took 13th, finishing with a final score of 323.

Azul Diaz put in another impressive showing for the Falcons. The new cross country school record holder notched her third top-10 finish in a row, putting up a time of 20:54.0 to take sixth. Diaz nearly broke into the top-five, coming in just two seconds after Westfield/Montello’s Haddie Showen.

Asia Atkinson and Monse Ochoa kept pace with each and finished side by side, with Atkinson coming across the line a few tenths of a second faster than her teammate. Atkinson posted a time of 27:53.3 to take 84th and Ochoa had a time of 27:53.9, earning her 85th.

Angie Chavez served as the Falcons’ fourth runner on Tuesday, taking 92nd with a time of 29:10.0 and Sinai Tomas came in as the fifth varsity runner with a time of 33:55.0, earning her 99th. Azalea Atkinson rounded out the Falcons team with a time of 34:36.0 to take 100th.

Abbotsford also competed in Colby on Saturday, where Diaz was the only member to compete in the varsity race. The senior added a third place finish to her 2024 resume as she edged out Colby’s Annamarie Schmitt with a time of 21:01.2.

The rest of the team competed in the mixed JV race, where Ochoa took 18th with a time of 28:17.5, Asia Atkinson placed 20th with a time of 28:32.9, Chavez came in 24th with a time of 29:24.0, Tomas earned 30th with a time of 36:56.5 and Azalea Atkinson finished the course in 37:29.4 to earn 31st.

The Falcons will continue their season as they head to Wausau for Wausau East’s Smiley Invitational. The race is one of the largest that the girls will compete in this season, with runners from nearly 50 programs from across the state to compete. The first race of the day starts at 8:30 a.m.

HUSTLING TO THE FINSIH - Azul Diaz locks into another gear as she races down the final straightaway in Colby. She took third overall in the race.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD