The Fountain Hills High School cross country team competed in its first invitational this past week, with multiple Falcons posting strong finishes.

On Oct. 7, the Falcons traveled to Gilbert to compete in the Titan Invitational, where the team’s freshmen really stepped up.

“Our three freshman boys finished in the top 20 of Division III freshmen with Josh Ball at third overall, Caleb Lara at ninth overall and Dylan Romans at 20th overall,” head coach Nick Goodman said. “Erin Hooley, also a freshman, finished third overall in the Division III girls freshman race. Our other five runners, Tyler Irvine-Violette, Zion Atwood, Tim Lamar, Skye Alker and Eliana Bartman, all finished with personal bests at this meet.”

Goodman hopes that this invitational will help prepare his runners for the post season.

“Sectionals and the state championship are on this course in November and we look forward to preparing for those big events over the next few weeks,” Goodman said. “Every one of our athletes has improved significantly and we will have a great showing at sectionals this year.”