XC Chronicles - "Their Journey" Episode 3 - The 2019 Season

It's the moment of truth, girls. Moment of truth.

All right, ladies, take a deep breath and relax.

Great Oak and the Gray Tops and the Red Shorts, all coming in one time.

Oh my.

To defeat the Wolfpack here, this is Buchanan.

Do not settle for 5th or 6th. You got this. You got the kick. You got the strike. Go get it.

Be you. Just be the best you can be. Don't compare yourself to anybody else. Don't worry about anybody else. Just be you so that you can be confident in you and not worried about so-and-so. So when you step on the line, you know what you can run. Just make sure you run your race.

2019, the be-all and end-all season for two elite athletes and two respected team dynasties. Great Oak has emerged with state titles in each of the last 7 years, but this time around the situation is unclear. Their star athlete has been hobbled by injury.

We wanted Tori to be healthy because, gosh, bless her heart, I mean, she grew like 4 inches and she had suffered, you know, physically from that very fast growth spurts, so we were uncertain where Tori would be because she lost a track season.

Being in a fishbowl of basically media surrounding you, you know, people started asking the question like, "Where's Tori Gaitan?" and, you know, "What's happening with her?" And then people making up random stories about what had happened to me and going on things like Let's Run and reading these random comments from random people that had no idea what they were talking about. That was, that was hard.

And coming into cross-country, she She was still bothered by some of those, you know, growth pains. We were worried. So our goal was like, you know what, we gotta make this happen with or without Tori.

That's the sport. That's the nature of the sport. Like, you're not always gonna have this linear path. And I'm a huge believer in that if you keep going, eventually you're gonna get out of that dip.

For Buchanan, being denied for more than 20 years of winning that elusive state title leaves them unfazed for the ultimate goal.

I don't think that affected them at all as far as being more aggressive or, uh, more focused. We're pretty focused, and when you— when you're out here, you give your heart and soul. That's all we ask.

It's Corey's senior year. She's determined to lay it all on the line for one last shot at the team title.

I don't think I've ever worked out harder in my entire life. I think I could do really, really well this season. Like, I feel really, really good. So I think that summer was just me getting like my get my confidence back after last year kind of a thing.

This epic rivalry is on a collision course.

¡Vamos, Johnny!

California State Division I Cross Country Champion, Jim Rice.

It doesn't matter if it's a state meet, doesn't matter if it's a little duel meet. Hey, you put your foot on the line to give your heart and soul out, and that's all we can ask.

I wanted to beat her, she wanted to beat me like nothing else. Matter.

It's a lot of pressure when you're the one on top, so I wish I wasn't so hard on myself.

When you dominate somebody, you keep your foot on their throat, you know, you don't let them up.

That's a rivalry, that's called competition, that's why you do these things.

It's the sport, you know, it's up and down, it's a roller coaster.

This is their journey. For 2019, both teams welcome in extremely talented talented freshmen that create major scoring potential.

I remember in 7th grade, I did my research. They've been winning state for years, and I really wanted to be a part of that legacy, so it really inspired me to go out and run every day.

It was definitely like more, you know, bigger than like junior high and stuff, but I was excited to see this season and meet like the rest of the teammates and I was just excited.

I think I had an idea that they were good, but you never really know how good someone is until they get there, until they race. They seem good. They did good in middle school, but let's see how good they really do, like, here.

3.1 miles. It's a longer season than junior high season. It's just harder.

Well, we won't hype them up, like, quite yet. Let's give them a chance to adjust and to see what happens.

The Woodbridge Classic, among the final head-on clashes between these two precocious seniors. Cory dominated 2017, Tori dominated 2018. Who will rise to the top in 2019? Coach Soules has become well aware of Buchanan's freshman girls.

My biggest fear with freshmen is that they don't know to fear us, right? We've trained the other girls on their team to know that Great Oak's going to beat them, but freshmen are a little bit different. They, they, they don't know that Great Oak has their number, and so those girls may not care that Great Oak's in the same race with them.

For Tori, this moment marks her long-awaited return to racing and her chance to prove the naysayers wrong.

I was very focused on having this breakout season. People were just like, thought I would be gone. And so I was very, had a chip on my shoulder. I was just so anxious to race and so anxious to like prove myself.

For Buchanan, this marks the first major test for its strong but unproven young talent.

Woodbridge, it's really important. That's our first time we run basically 3 miles.

I wanted to see how everyone was going to perform under pressure.

Kori unleashes her signature move, surging right to the front. Meanwhile, Tori is tackling her own race time battle.

While I was trying to convince myself that it was gonna go super well for me, I also had a lot of doubt going into it.

Tori pushes to keep contact with the leaders, but as the race progresses, the developments are not encouraging for Great Oak.

Buchanan had a couple really good freshmen. That meet made it very clear. It's like, okay.

I saw Tori get 20th, 'cause I'm watching the live results and seeing that she's not in the top 10, she's not in the top 15. I don't have anybody until 20th. I expected to get beat at that point.

It was disheartening that we didn't do as well as we wanted to. I know, gosh, Tori was a full minute off of last year's time.

Buchanan's freshmen play a prominent role. They saved the day as the Bears claimed their second Woodbridge Classic title in 3 years with Cory back on top.

They surprised me. We won and I was like, okay, okay, we could be good. Like, they responded really well. They did great.

And I was like, this could be a really, really good year.

I surprised myself at that meet with how well I did, and it showed me like my potential for the season and our team's potential for this season.

Buchanan is in the spotlight once again, this time perhaps better than ever.

You know, we had the influx of those 3 freshman girls coming in. That was the game changer. They go, wow, we are good.

It was exciting. You beat some really national powerhouse teams. You know, we had some new young talent that was really going to help us.

For Tori and for Great Oak, much like in 2017, things are off to a rocky start.

Regardless of the outcome, we always look at the race and say, okay, how can we have done better? You know, it's not the end of the world.

It was kind of one of those memories that I repressed because it was such a letdown. You know, our team didn't do the way we wanted. A lot of our girls hadn't done the way they wanted. Um, I hadn't done the way I wanted.

Finishing just 20th at Woodbridge, Tori clearly was yearning for a better performance.

I think the stress for me was just kind of empathizing with where Tori was at and knowing that she was going to go through a lot that year and trying to make sure that she understood, look, we're not going to give up on you. You know, let's just get a little bit better each week and, and focus on trying to get consistent.

After that race, I really just wanted to forget about it and never think about it again because it was a hard letdown for not only me, but also the team.

Clovis looms around the corner, a midseason clash on the state meet course. Coach Soules is ready to send his own talented freshmen up to varsity.

We always know we're going to run well at Woodward Park. That's a course that we're focused on. Well, you know, every year you win, you get a jacket. So I'm always telling the kids I better get my jacket this year.

Buchanan is determined to make it 2 in a row against the Wolfpack. But they know it won't be easy.

They were just out there having fun at Woodbridge. Now all of a sudden they're going, "Golly, we gotta do this again." You know, just be you. You know, with the young kids and everything else coming on, it's a hard little mix to— Hey, don't worry about that. Who cares? It's just a race. Just go out there and run and compete.

I definitely thought we were gonna get top 3. I think that's always a good goal to have, and I knew that the freshmen were good enough to for sure do top 3. Again, some people choke, some people get injured, some people get sick. I didn't— couldn't— I couldn't bank on us getting first, but I knew we could probably pull a top 3.

With Tori slowly rounding into form, she must adjust her race plan.

It was very hard for me to let myself be happy with anything that I did because I was constantly in that battle of comparing myself to the prior year. So I was in my own little battle with myself during that point.

She was realizing, I just need to get a little bit closer to the front and I need to hold on a little bit more. But I think she was very much aware that she wasn't going to be running with, you know, the top group. There were about 5 or 6 really good girls in that race. And I think she was more focused on how do I run a fast enough race to help my team be successful?

But even with Tori not factoring up front, Cory is ambushed by more competition than she ever bargained for.

Those two girls that were with me basically the whole time, I had never seen before. I was like, ah, oh no, like, I don't know these people. They must be new or freshmen. And then I was like, oh my God, I cannot let a freshman beat me. Like, I'm a senior. It was the most stressful race I think I've ever ran just because I did not know who they were. And I was like, I don't know these people. I'm running the fastest I can and I feel like I'm gonna lose. And I didn't know I was gonna win until I crossed that finish line, and I did win.

But while Buchanan boasts the individual winner, fresh new legs step forward for Great Oak, which rallies for an exhilarating team victory.

I think I finally started to realize our competition, our rivalry with Buchanan around Clovis.

Winning Clovis is probably the biggest boost of confidence that our team can get just going into the state meet.

You know, we won, but they were close behind, and I think we really had to keep an eye on Buchanan for the rest of the season.

For Cori, a Woodbridge victory followed by a Clovis setback has become a bittersweet and all-too-familiar script.

I was definitely very much like, oh my God, this is exactly how it's going to go like my sophomore year. Like, we're going to lose. Like, they're This is just a repeat. I'm like, god dang it.

It was basically, you know, if you guys want to be state champions, this isn't going to work. If that's what you girls really want, then we got to relook at things, not only on our side on the training, but on your guys' attitude towards racing and how you go into a race.

Somehow in the meet, they were just not being themselves, so they went out too hard. And so once you get them to understand that Hey, relax, who cares, you know? Just make sure you run your race. That's really hard to get kids to do, is to run their race.

There was like maybe a level of disappointment, but we knew that we had to stay motivated and we knew that state was like more important and we were just trying to stay focused on that.

Going into the postseason 2019, I had a spike in injury, the exact same injury that had taken me out for the 2019 track season that had left me cross-training for a couple of weeks. Once I started to come back, I was running a little bit. This was probably right before CIF finals time.

When we got to the CIF Finals meet, Tori came up to me and she said, "Yeah, I think I'm sick." And I looked at her and she looked like a zombie. So I was like, "Okay, she's not healthy." And I said, "Well, you know, let's throw somebody else in." And she'd won the CIF title in 2018 and wanted to stay in there. And so I said, "Okay, you sure you're okay?" And she's as tough as any kid I've ever coached. So she was like, "Yeah, I'm gonna stick this out." And she went out there. I think she was, you know, 25th to 30th range. She was not anywhere near where she was capable of being 100% healthy, and she, she just didn't look good. So mom and dad took her immediately, I think, to urgent care. And, you know, I got a text message, "Yeah, I've got the flu." And I figured she's going to be in bed for the rest of this week. So I figured she wasn't going to run at state, and I really didn't want to run her at state. And no matter what, I was pretty much going to talk her out of running at state.

Seeing Buchanan's results from late season meets, Coach Soules can't help but notice— a concerning trend.

At least 2 of their freshmen were ready to rock and roll, and so that definitely gave us pause. I think for Buchanan it was a race later in the season, even after Clovis.

John Seaman was the big test. I thought that they ran really, really well, really fast.

Where they had just a tremendous 3-mile race where all their girls ran really fast going into the postseason that we recognized, you know, They ran about what we would run if we were all having a great day, so.

You know, we just had to keep reminding them the state meet was not gonna be like some of the other meets that happened, the lower-level meets. They're competitive, but not up in the front. You know, there's gonna be people around Cory. You know, there's gonna be people around you when you're running. People don't go away.

That whole week going into state, basically I had not gotten out of bed until I left for that trip. I found out that I wasn't going to run after the warm-up.

I was trying to let her make the decision, and had she said, "I'm gonna run," I would have talked her out of it, I think.

I'm such a stubborn person that, you know, Soles was telling me from the beginning, you know, "I don't think this is a good idea.

I don't think you should be racing." I didn't want to see her collapse at mile 2 and go away in an ambulance. I mean, you just don't want to win that badly, right?

With Tori still on the mend, Coach Soles is forced to consider new possibilities.

A lot of the team mindset was, Soul's trying to prepare them for the fact that you don't necessarily need this runner, you guys can do it on your own. I think everybody was a little bit scared, a little bit on edge, and that was kind of the mindset.

I think everyone was just a little bit more nervous for that one than we were in the years past. Me and Mia, who are the only two seniors, knew. We were like, oh my God, like, this is just like our sophomore year, and we really didn't want it to happen again, and the freshmen knew we didn't want it to happen again, so they were a little bit nervous, and plus they had never ran in the state meet before, so they were more nervous about that.

I mean, there's a lot of people on that line, and I just remember being like, I was like, "Okay, find my girls. We need to remember to stay in a group and then also look at the same time for Great Oak.

That's who we're watching." Just on that start line, I think it finally became clear that we were with our number one. There was just a big gap to fill. It was scary.

I think when the gun goes off, you're just kind of—

it's like everyone for themself kind of a thing. So for me, it just starts and you just kind of go and you're just— you, again, you never know who's going to do well. So it's not like I'm looking for anybody. I'm hoping I don't see anybody. I'm hoping I win. And it's easy that.

I remember feeling very helpless. All I could do was cheer for them. And that was just like not a good feeling.

I remember looking at Buchanan and thinking, they have figured it out. They had a much better race, much better positioning. They looked a lot less afraid of what they were trying to accomplish.

They ran their race, especially the freshman girls. I mean, what they did was like mind-blowing in the state meet.

My biggest fear is, you know, that the freshmen aren't going to be afraid of us, and they clearly were not.

A lot, you know, it was Sydney. Sydney was, you know, she was right there. It was a battle for all those girls, the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th place. They were battling, and, you know, and it's like, come on, Syd, you can get 3rd in this thing.

I wanted to try and be able to see Cory at some points in the race.

And hearing Tim O'Rourke say that, "Oh my, this is going to be a great last mile," you know, it's just like, "Oh, here we go again." Along the final stretch, it becomes abundantly clear Buchanan's girls are racing with a vengeance.

Turning around and then seeing Sydney finish 6th, I was like, "Okay, okay, I think we're all doing really, really well. Like, this is good.

Like, it's really good." I specifically remember finishing, being exhausted, having my hands on my hips, and people coming up to me being like, "I think you guys beat Great Oak." Like, "You guys beat Great Oak." And Weaver pulls me aside and he's like, "I think you guys won." And I'm like, "No, I don't want to hear it until it's like for sure.

Like, don't tell me that. I don't want to get my hopes up." Second, this is Cory Smith.

That's going to be key as they battle for the team title. Like, 2 now in the chute for Buchanan. 2 in the chute for Great Oak. Number 3 for Buchanan.

This is going to be This is gonna be a great one, folks.

Number 3 for Great Oak. Here is one more for Great Oak. Great Oak, 5 and 6. There is, I think, number 4 for Buchanan.

We don't know until, you know, the results are posted and it's done. And then everyone else is like, "Oh my God, I think you guys won." And we're like, I'm like, "Shut up. I don't wanna hear about it. I don't wanna hear about it till I see it on paper." And then we get the results. And we all start freaking out, of course.

From the Central Section, winning their first title since 1994, the Bears of Buchanan!

Man, what goes through my mind? Um, that like How did we do this? How did we go from 2017, '18? Well, then you think back in '94, then, you know, I started thinking back at winning the track title. There was so many things going through your mind. I knew we won and everybody's like, "What happened? What happened? What happened?" And I didn't want to tell them yet. I wanted to get to the girls and let the girls know. I felt that they deserved that more than, you know, just a fan asking me. My principal asked me what happened and I just shook my head.

And he said, "You guys won." I'm like, I didn't let them know.

I wanted the girls to hear the excitement, and they were over there, and I'm like, girls, I'm sorry, you guys gave it your all. And I go, you won. And they just sat there for a minute, um, and then start jumping all over each other. It was crazy. Sydney, Corey, I can't thank you enough for what you guys have done, your support. This goes back to Coach Marty Simpson starting this program, and without him and his determination and And then stealing everything, just could not be happening.

Again, thank you very much.

We appreciate you. It's an outstanding day for these young ladies.

Buchanan's girls win the CIF State Championship, their first in more than 20 years and their first ever in Division I.

I know everyone on the team was just so, just grateful for one another and standing on the podium, getting the trophy, like taking all the pictures and doing all the interviews.

It was just so much fun.

Like, I love doing all that, like it just comes with winning, so anything that comes with that I just like doing.

I just remember looking at everybody's faces and we all looked at each other like, "We just won the state meet, like we're state champions, this is insane." Looking back I'm like, how did I not cry? Like that was just so exciting and like, I mean everyone was there, like our family, our friends.

The amount of work those girls had put in and the fact that so many of them PR'd and/or matched their PR. They just, as a team, raced so well.

I just love competing, so if we win, it was enjoyable. Trust me, it was enjoyable.

I kind of didn't like process it for a little while. I was like, oh, we won. I was like, oh, we won.

Great Oaks State Meet dynasty, a streak that has spanned 7 titles across 7 years had been snapped. Goliath had finally been slayed.

Part of me was proud that Buchanan had kind of had that big of a race in that moment, and they were able to step up and win. You know, we'd beaten them for so many years that I think it was kind of, you know, bittersweet for me knowing that, hey, I know what they're going through. I know how they're feeling. You know, when you finally beat that team that's been beating you year after year. Saugus beat us for years. It was hard to go through, but I was proud of their team, and I was proud of the way our girls responded to giving them credit for what they'd accomplished.

So unfortunately, 4 points. That was kind of our mantra for the year. 4 points, we lost state, and then 4 points, the boys lost nationals. So it was kind of a bad number.

The fact that it was 4 points, I think, is what haunted me the most, because the idea 'Oh my gosh, if I didn't get hurt, if I didn't get sick, what if I was sick, and like, what if I even went in there and I could have done better than I thought? What if I didn't make the right decision?' That is what was the hardest for me, was the what-ifs. And the fact that it was 4 points, I almost wish they blew us out of the water because then it would have been like, 'Oh, there was nothing I could have done about it. They were gonna win either way.' But it was the fact that it it was 4 points, I still could have helped my team win. So that was difficult.

Being defeated, it was hard to take in. You know, we kind of broke this legacy that Great Oaks has had at that course. You know, I was really hoping to be a part of it. I think that really motivates me for future seasons, you know, just to start a new legacy. And, you know, even though we did lose, we can still continue on something great for Great Oak, and, you know, it's not the end for us.

For us.

One week later, both teams face off again at Nike Cross Nationals. In that rematch, both teams have their top runners competing.

We wanted to make sure that we solidified beating Great Oak. Like, that was the final step in putting the nail in the coffin. I made that also very clear, and so did Weaver.

We're—

again, we're here to do good, and we're not gonna let a team that we just beat be us. If that happens, we're never gonna hear the end of it. And I kind of told them that. I'm like, we're not gonna have— I don't want Weaver yelling at us for the next week or crap-talking us for the next week about how— not even next week, the next year— about how we let that happen.

Buchanan finishes ahead yet again, placing 5th at Nationals. Great Oak places 9th.

You know, I think that, you know, if you believe and you put in the time and you work, that goals can be achieved. You know, all the hard work and all the years that have seen some of these other programs and the level that they raised just spearheaded everything, and it just accumulated to crazy feelings and emotions and excitement.

Winning state, like, for me against them was That was a huge, like, that was just like a great feeling just 'cause I had had that rivalry for a long time. It was definitely interesting standing there 'cause you stand in line before you get called up and us standing there with them 'cause they got second. Dang, like they were mad and we were excited and it was just, it was hard not to be like, oh my God, I can't believe we finally beat you guys.

It's always sad to see a legacy of 7 in a row not go to 8 in a row. You know, we wanted to really see if we could put 9 out of 10 state championships up in that decade. So there was a couple things that we missed that were, you know, a little bit sad for us. But, you know, just seeing the girls give their all, you can't ever fault kids for laying it out there for you. And I felt like every one of the girls that was out there gave 100%. So, you know, I was proud of our effort. I was proud of Buchanan, you know, getting the better of us and going out there and running a great race. It took a great race to beat to beat us, so.

I have experienced being a high-profile runner and, you know, having all the lights and camera and media focusing on you and then having that downfall and everybody around you making it seem like it's not okay. I just want to put out there that it is okay to have a downfall in a sport that is full of them. Especially young runners, young girls running, be excited in the fact that you're gonna gain so much more from having a pit and it's gonna make you that much more better and that much more faster and that much more resilient in the future going through that.

With their journey now complete, Cory goes on to study at and compete for the National Powerhouse Program at the University of Arkansas. Tori also moves on to the next level at a high-profile destination competing for Northern Arizona University. Coach Weaver remains at the helm at Buchanan His girls team is rated tops in the state for the 2020 season. Meanwhile, Coach Soules has made the tough decision to leave Great Oak, seeking to author a brand new chapter in his illustrious coaching career. These two amazing programs have battled for years and made each other that much stronger. Defeat and victory are a part of the sport, and these two teams will always remember how incredible their journey was.