Lost Hills runners compete at Nationals

Lost Hills School District sent five runners to the AAU Cross Country National Championship on December 4, 2021.

Natali Gregory, Maria Ballesteros, Emmanuel Bustamante, Joshua Chavez and Jesus Diaz went to Charlotte, North Carolina.

"These Scholar runners were joined with a team that was constructed of over 20 Kern County runners that were headed as the Kern County All Stars Cross Country team," Lost Hills Principal Veronica Sanchez-Gregory said. "Overall, it is expected that over 2,000 runners [were] at the cross country meet on Dec. 4."

Sanchez-Gregory also said that the course has its challenges with a steep hill toward the end of the race with a grave downhill.

"I am proud of my runners, not only because they are great athletes but also excellent scholars in the classroom," Sanchez-Gregory said.

She added that the runners along with their parents and school community thanked Coach Ryan from Kern County All Stars, C & C Printing, parents and teachers who helped sponsor the trip with various resources.

Each race had over 200 runners.

Jesus Diaz ran a 4k with a time of 17:02 and placed 82 in his age group, Emmanuel Bustamante ran a 3K with a time of 12:01 and placed 42 in his age group, Joshua Chavez ran a 3k with a time of 12:36 and placed 80 in his age group, Maria Ballesteros ran a 3k with a time of 13:13 and placed 40 in her age group and Natalí Gregory ran a 3k with a time of 13:55 and placed 35 in her age group.