The Crawford High School Cross Country team's success in sport was noteworthy this season, but it was their citizenship and sportsmanship that drew the attention of the San Diego CIF office, which recognized the team with the "Victory with Honor" Award.
They are the only San Diego County team to receive the award for sports played in fall 2016.
The boys' team went undefeated in league competition, winning City League finals for the first time in 13 years, and performed well in various Southern California Invitational meets. During the season, the team developed a remarkable camaraderie of which coach Rachel Venancio took notice and nominated the team for the "Victory with Honor" recognition.
"The students treat each other like a family. These friendships extend beyond practice, as do the character traits developed by cross country, such as delayed gratification, resilience, loyalty, and perseverance to name a few," Venancio said. "The new arrival refugee runners have found fast friends in students that were already here, creating a diverse and fun-loving group that really cares for each other. They cheer each other on in the races, bring each other food, help each other with schoolwork, and have each other's backs when it comes to juggling the life of a student-athlete."
The award was given to the cross country team for exemplifying "the CIF core principles of good character, both on and off the field: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship." In addition to the criteria listed above, all "Victory with Honor" nominees are required to meet at least a 2.75, grade-point-average, have no player or coach ejections during their most recent season, and have no office referrals among players during the most recent 12 months.
The "Victory with Honor" award is handed out each season by CIF San Diego and sponsored by Wings-n-Things.