Following a successful week for the ILS girls cross country team, they hit their strides once again.

LaSalle finished second overall out of 10 teams with 91 runners at the Monsignor Pace invitational. And they were led by senior Victoria Morera, as she finished fourth overall with a time of 24:43. Morera, the team captain, was unable to top her season-high of  23:39, which won her the girl’s division last week at the Archbishop McCarthy Invitational.

As the season progresses, she looks to continue to improve her times as she hopes to receive a college scholarship.

“By the end of the season, I hope to be a 20-minute runner [for the 5K], hopefully getting offers for running from universities,” Morera said.

Senior Isabella Juara, which finished second last week, topped her season-best time, placing 10th overall with a time of 24:32. She was followed by sophomore Alessia Quiros, as her time of 24:39 put her in 11th place. In addition, fellow underclassmen Marium Osman (25:39) and Anna Zorgniotti (25:56) have picked up their times.

“Watching the underclassmen progress and find their own mindset of who they are as a runner makes me a very proud captain,” said Morera.

Of course, running is a very challenging sport both physically and mentally. And Morera has been to guide her team along the way.

“Showing them how we warm up as a team to show unity, starting off every race with a prayer to have faith and setting the example of whenever any one of our teammates finished a run to tell them good job to build up their confidence,” she added.

Overall, ILS (2:04:32) finished 4:26 seconds behind Cardinal Gibbons high school, which won the race. Aside from that, they outmatched all the other schools at the meet. Marathon high school (2:12:11), Westminster Academy (2:16:17), Gulliver Prep (2:21:52) all ended with times well behind the Royal Lions.