Imagine spending Friday afternoon running three miles over rough terrain in 90-degree weather. Archer’s varsity cross country team did just that.

Mt. San Antonio College — more commonly known as Mt. SAC — hosts a multitude of athletic events, including the annual Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational, which Archer attended on Oct. 21.

“It’s a very challenging race, mentally and physically,” cross country coach Amelia Mathis said.

According to the Mt. SAC website, this invitational is the “world’s largest cross country competition” and features over 20,000 athletes competing over a “challenging 3.0-mile course.”

Archer’s varsity team placed seventh out of 23 schools in their division. This meet is one of the few where Archer competes against public schools.

Co-captain Kaia Turowski ’17 earned the best time on the Archer team, running with a time of 24:59. Additionally, Caitlin Chen ’19 beat her best personal time and placed second on the Archer team.

“Archer has never placed 7th in the MT SAC Meet. This is a huge accomplishment for Archer Cross Country as a team!” Mathis wrote in an email.

While running co-captain Leyla Namazie ’17 got a nose bleed but was able to continue and finish her race.

“It’s a pretty challenging race to begin with, but once I got the nose bleed, it became a lot harder,” Namazie said.

This event was Namazie’s fourth and last visit to the Mt. SAC Invitational. She was disappointed with her time — 27:04 — but she felt good that she was able to persevere and finish the race.

“By the end of it, it was more funny than it was upsetting,” Namazie said.

Overall, the team placed third in the Liberty League and qualified for CIF. CIF play will begin on Nov. 12.