Blaise Snow has led the Santa Barbara High cross country team in many meets this year, playing a crucial part in their wins. When asked how his season is going, he said, “My season has been going very well so far. My team is doing really well this year and we are all hoping we are able to make it to the California state meet this year. It is so nice to have a team that is working really hard to do their best and compete. Last time I checked the varsity boys are tenth in the state of California which is pretty insane. I’m also hoping I will be able to win the league meet and my hardest competition will be San Marcos’s runners.” Blaise’s personal best consists of a 15 minute, 56 second 5k which is pretty impressive,  as well as a 4 minute 39 second mile time. 

When asked about how it feels to be the Athlete of the Month he said “Being the Athlete of the Month feels great. It’s a good feeling to have all the training I’ve put in for last year’s show.” A fellow teammate of Blaise’s says that Blaise is a very hard working athlete that has a very bright future ahead of him with a future as a Division One athlete. When speaking to Blaise about his future goal he said “My hope after high school is to run and go to college and see how far I can go in the sport.”

 Just like most sports COVID truly has affected the lives of many people and taken many seasons away from athletes, including cross country. In our interview I asked Blaise how his season was altered last year. He said “Last year I only had 3 meets all and Dos Pueblos. And they were only against DP and San Marcos. I won all of them, but the difference between this year and last year is huge. I am running against much faster people this year and it’s making the season much more interesting.” 

Earlier this season in the Channel League Mid-Season Meet the boys cross country team had five top ten finishes and seven out of top thirteen, winning this meet by sixteen points. Snow led the Dons to third place in this meet. Oliver Levine and Andreas Dybdahl tied for 4th and 5th, Xan Tassos came in 7th place, Drew Delozier in 9th place and Colten Mccbridge and Bode Andrulatis in 12th and 13th.

Snow and his teammates have been very successful this season and are the Santa Barbara county boys team champions. They are the best runners in the county with three placements in the top ten in most of their races with Blaise Snow, Oliver Levine and Andreas Dybdahl, and they hope to win their city championships next week. SBHS  Cross Country coach Olivia Perdices has said countless times, “They really were all in it together for that team championship”. Cross Country is a sport that takes lots of dedication and showing up early and having self discipline. Early morning practices and hot afternoon practices outside aren’t easy. Congratulations to the cross country team on a great season and a big congrats to Blaise Snow on winning Athlete of the Month. 

[Image Credit Blaise Snow]