On October 20-22, six girls and seven boys from the YISS 2022 cross country team were joined by Coach Dwight and Coach Marquis to visit the Asia Pacific Invitational Cross Country Meet in Guam. The event had not been held for three years, making this meet highly-anticipated, not only by Guardian runners, but also by the 10 other full squads from schools in Japan, Korea, and the host country, Guam.

The event consisted of three races over two days. A 5K girls race, a 5K boys race, and then a mixed relay race of 8K. In true cross country and Guam form, the races were held in wet grass, mud, sand, and even parts in the Pacific Ocean. The Guardians were not intimidated by the newness of the terrain or the event and shone brightly with every step. 

“This is so fun,” exclaimed Claire Lee (10) while running a muddy course on the host school’s campus. Claire received API All-Island honors for her 9th-place finish this year. 

Claire was not the only Guardian to thrive in the new environment. Senior, Nathan Cho added, “This was the most fun I’ve had while running for YISS in seven years!” 

While there were some great individual results, we are most proud of the Guardian’s 6th-place finish amongst 11 full teams in the overall combined team championship. Coaches Dwight and Marquis want to recognize the four senior boys who waited their entire high school career to race in API Guam. We thank them for their leadership and commitment to Guardian running! All the best to Captains David Lee and Nathan Cho and to Brian Kim and Nathan Kim.