The DP cross country team hosted the 54th annual Dos Pueblos Invitational on Oct. 14, where 900 student-athletes competed in races through DP’s stadium and the unpaved path through the wooded section of DP known as the back half.

Girls’ captain, Sophie Saleh (12), appreciated the turnout of the event.

“This was like the first year DPI had had a lot of runners, so it was nice, like having the competition,” Saleh said.

Unlike typical meets, the DP Invitational holds separate races for each grade level, meaning there are races for 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th-grade boys and girls. Overall scores are determined by the 3 best scores on each team, with the lowest score winning. At the end of the meet, the best teams in each of the divisions are ranked and the overall winner is rewarded the Gordon McClenathen Trophy.

DP won the 12th-grade Boys division and Cullen Gully (10) won the 10th-grade Boys race that secured them that division for DP, setting a positive tone for their boys.

“I mean, we already knew that we were a pretty good team, although it definitely gave a confidence boost to some of the freshmen, who did much better in this race,” Cullen said.

Despite DP placing second in the 11th-grade Boys division, Eamon Gordon (11) won the 11th-grade Boys race with the fastest time of the day.

“Knowing that I got first, it was very nice to be able to feel that the effort that I put in and my experience with this course, even though it’s a new course [with] the back half and a lot of cross country trails in there. And it was really special,” Gordon said.

DP’s girls placed first in the 10th-grade Girls division, led by Cate Bishop (10) and Vienza Machuca (10). Saleh found leading the newer runners to be very “rewarding”.

Overall, the results of the invitational were very uplifting for the DP cross country teams.

“The fact that our school is able to prevail over such a wide variety of other [schools], including ones that are in divisions above us and ranked above us, has helped people see our cross country team in a more positive light,” said Gordon.

On Nov. 3, the cross country team will be competing in the Channel League Finals, their final meet of the season before moving on to CIF.

Edited Nov. 17 for spelling corrections.