News and Announcements
The Center Meet at Newhall Park this year had the feel of a good size invitational, as the newly expanded league welcomed Dougherty Valley and Dublin into the mix this year. Already one of the top leagues in Northern California, some are now calling it one of the few "super" leagues in the State. With teams from the EBAL winning the last seven years of NCS titles in D1 (both boys and girls) the league is even stronger this season with most all of the teams dropping into Division 2. On the girls side, Granada, San Ramon Valley and Monte Vista all have a shot at the top 5 in the state. On the boys side, Granada and Dublin came in highly ranked, while MV carried the 17th best State ranking, all divisions, going into the meet.
As the Mustangs have done all season - it was another strong, balanced performance today, with top three finishes in 5 of the 6 races including FIRST PLACE in the JV Girls and Varsity Boys race - the latter representing a big upset by the VB's! In meet order, the teams finished as follows:
- Frosh Soph Girls: 2nd Place (one point from 1st!!!)
- Frosh Soph Boys: 3rd Place
- Junior Varsity Girls: 1st Place
- Junior Varsity Boys: 6th Place
- Varsity Girls: 2nd Place
- Varsity Boys: 1st Place
Individual Race Victories for Josephine Lee and Karalyn Sawchuk:
There is absolutely nothing more exciting for a coach (or parent, or teammate) than when the lead runners reappear after being out on the course - and there is a red and black uniform leading the way!! This happened twice again on Weds, as Frosh Josephine Lee emerged from the second loop with a big lead, eventually winning the FS Girls race by 29 seconds! In the JV Girls race, teammate Jr Karalyn Sawchuk was literally all by herself as she dominated the race with a 45 second marging of victory. Her 20:46 time would have placed her in the top half of the varsity race! After the Mustang performances at the Nike Invite earlier this season, it's clear that Newhall Park is a favorite for the team.
Josephine Lee (left) and Karalyn Sawchuk (right) claim EBAL Center Meet wins today!
Varsity Recap:
The Varsity Boys are the big story today, as they edge new EBAL rival Dublin 57-62. Last week at Clovis, Dublin ran the fastest time every by a North Coast Section team on the Woodward Park course. Today however, it was the Mustangs who put together the best team performance. Sr Tristan Miller moves up big in the last mile to grab 3rd place, just ahead of Dublins top runners. Daniel Maneloveg is next in 6th while Nick Vomund is 10th. Soph Matthew Kim is 4th in 18th place, while Sr Ben Smiley runs his best race of the year to nail down 5th man - 7 spots ahead of Dublin's 5th runner. The time is by far the fastest ever for a MV boys team at Newhall, breaking the mark set just weeks ago at the Nike Invite. The battle looms for EBAL's and NCS!
The Varsity Girls run a strong, balanced race to take 2nd today, only behind state ranked Granada. Jr Alex Wilson is the surprise story today, as she takes top honors with her 6th place finish. Alex has put forth an impressive season and keeps getting stronger each race. Meredith Corda is right behind her in 7th despite suffering from being sick. Two varsity newcomers this year - Soph Sidney Isom and Frosh Kelli Wilson - are 3rd and 4th today as they continue to race like seasoned veterans. Audrey Coney is 5th runner in 13th place with varsity teammate Cat Kiser right there in 14th. Granada runners take 1st, 2nd and 3rd today with their 5th in by 12th place - an impressive performance and clearly now the team to beat in the EBAL.
Full Results posted on XC Stats (as always). Individual races posted via MileSplit.com
CONGRATS MUSTANGS!!! 
| MVXC - Top 5 MV times at EBAL Center | |||||||
| Race | Place | Time | Race | Place | Time | ||
| Girls Frosh/Soph | Boys Frosh Soph | ||||||
| Josephine Lee | 1 | 21:29 | Austin Pendergraft | 5 | 17:34 | ||
| Sumin Lim | 3 | 22:16 | Jason Serduke | 16 | 18:20 | ||
| Lilliam O'Keefe | 5 | 22:33 | Ethan Pendergraft | 20 | 18:31 | ||
| Holly Meineke | 11 | 23:11 | Mateus Dutra | 25 | 18:56 | ||
| Sabine Salles | 16 | 23:34 | Sam Milham | 29 | 19:13 | ||
| Girls Junior Varsity | Boys Junior Varsity | ||||||
| Karalyn Sawchuk | 1 | 20:47 | Cade Hammond | 25 | 18:15 | ||
| Cheyenne Friesen | 3 | 21:52 | Ryan Long | 29 | 18:39 | ||
| Megan Bjeldanes | 5 | 22:23 | Grant Meehan | 31 | 18:45 | ||
| Criara Friesen | 8 | 22:31 | Benjamin Wilson | 32 | 18:50 | ||
| Siena Bowen | 16 | 23:32 | Joshua Elliott | 33 | 18:50 | ||
| Girls Varsity | Boys Varsity | ||||||
| Alex Wilson | 6 | 18:55 | Tristan Miller | 3 | 15:31 | ||
| Meredith Corda | 7 | 18:56 | Daniel Maneloveg | 6 | 15:41 | ||
| Sidney Isom | 8 | 18:59 | Nicolas Vomund | 10 | 15:53 | ||
| Kelli Wilson | 11 | 19:06 | Matthew Kim | 18 | 16:11 | ||
| Audrey Coney | 13 | 19:08 | Benjamin Smiley | 20 | 16:18 | ||
News 8--Photo Order Form, Pasta Feed, EBAL Center Meet, and Snack Shack Vols Needed
To: Courtney Corda
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2016 9:00 PM
Subject: XC Newsblast #8: Urgent! Photo Order Form Details, Pasta Feed, EBAL Center Meet, and Football Snack Shack Vols Needed
Dear Parents and Students,
Time sure flies! Busy week for us again...and thank you for your patience as I know many of you have emailed or texted or called asking the #1 question of the day:
WHERE IS THE PHOTO ORDER FORM?! Answer: Coach Jensen passed them out Friday at practice, but many kids didn't notice or forgot to get one. Today, Coach Jensen was not able to be at practice (and neither were the forms). And, unfortunately, Yary Photography doesn't have an online order form or a PDF of their paper form. BUT, the good news is that we have a PHOTO of the order form so that you can see the packages and prices. I've attached it here as a PDF. Please send in a check with your athlete tomorrow for the appropriate amount (if you would like to buy photos). Your student can place the check in the physical envelope and fill out the order form while they wait in line for photos. We will have the envelopes tomorrow!
Do NOT forget to wear your uniform to practice tomorrow for the photos!
(You must be in uniform to be included in the team photo)
PASTA FEED TOMORROW: After the team photos, the students will do a short run. When they get back, they will meet in the southeast corner of Oak Hill Park (the picnic tables nearest the Monte Vista tennis courts / parking lot) for our pasta feed. Thank you to all the parents who've volunteered so far to bring food/drink or to help. We don't want anyone to go hungry...and we still need about 6 pounds more pasta -- can you help? Please click here to sign up to bring two pounds of pasta or to help. The pasta feed should be over between 5:30 and 6:00.
EBAL CENTER MEET THIS WEDNESDAY:
- Location: Newhall Park in Concord. Spectators welcome! This will be our first chance to go head-to-head against ALL of the competitors in our league.
- Dismissal: Kids will be dismissed from school at 12:36. Runners need to eat lunch, get dressed in their uniforms and proceed to the buses. Do not go to 5th period!
- Buses: The buses will leave at 1:30 sharp. After the meet is over, students may return to Monte Vista on the bus or they are welcome to return home with their parents.
- What to Bring: The usual! Uniforms, snacks, warm-ups...
- Meet Schedule:
- 3:30 Girls Frosh/Soph
- 4:00 Boys Frosh/Soph
- 4:25 Girls JV
- 4:55 Boys JV
- 5:20 Girls Varsity (top ten runners)
- 5:45 Boys Varsity (top ten runners)
- 6:30 Buses depart for MVHS
THIS FRIDAY is Cross Country Night at the MV Football Game: It's a Monte Vista tradition that different sports teams take a turn staffing the snack shack at Monte Vista's home football games. In exchange, we get a share of the profits to support our team. It's a fun night for volunteering and we need a few more good men and women to help out. Plus, you get free entry to the game (and it's supposed to be a great one). Please come out and help -- click here to sign up.
THIS SATURDAY'S PRACTICE: There will be no organized practice held this Saturday. Instead, the coaching staff encourages our runners to sign up for the SRVEF Run for Education that takes place this Sunday morning. Represent your Mustangs and run a nice, flat course with friends! It's not too late to sign up and it will help our local schools.
Thanks everyone! Hope to see you parents at the meet on Wednesday. Go Mustangs!
Courtney Corda
Asst. Coach on behalf of all the coaching staff
P.S. A big thank you to all parents who attended the Oktoberfest and/or donated to our wine basket for the Oktoberfest. The wine basket sold for over $500! I will send a budget update next week.
Both Mustang squads appeared in the special invitational 'championship' race today, facing off against ranked teams from all over the state. The 5K course is the exact one most of these teams hope to see again - for the CIF State Championships in late November! And today both squads proved that they belong in the middle of that conversation!
Full results here. 
The girls team placed 9th overall, running the second fastest Monte Vista team time in school history on this course (last years state meet team holds the #1 honor). Sr Meredith Corda cracks into the top 10 with an amazing 7th place finish. Her 17:55 time is #2 all time for MV! In fact, 3 of her teammates also broke into MV's top 10 with Jr. Alex Wilson running 18:46 (#4), Soph Sidney Isom 18:59 (#8) and Frosh Kelli Wilson's 19:01 (#9). Soph Lauren Cervantes and Jr Audrey Coney rounded out the varsity team today.
The boys team was paced by Sr Tristan Miller's breakthrough 5K performance. His 15:55 time was good for #3 all time for MV, putting him behind only Mike Roderick from 2008 and last years record breaker Tim Chrisman. Tristan's time placed him 33rd overall today - a testimony to the strong field lined up today. Overall the boys placed a solid 14th, with Seniors Nick Vomund and Daniel Maneloveg coming in 2nd and 3rd for the team. Soph Matt Kim continues to race strong, with a fine 16:36 time. Jr Matt Johnson is 5th man today. Ben Smiley and Brendan Lau complete the team.
Click on the Woodward Park link to see all the Mustangs who have run this famous course over the years (includes all State Meet teams and Clovis Invite teams since 2007 (xc stats start for MV).
From: Courtney Corda
To: Courtney Corda
Sent: Thursday, October 6, 2016 9:42 PM
Subject: XC Newsblast #7: Starry Night, SRVEF Run, Team Photos, Pasta Feed, Center Meet
XC Newsblast #7: Starry Night, SRVEF Run, Team Photos, Pasta Feed, Center Meet
Dear Parents and Students,
We are chock-a-block full of news in this edition, so please take a moment to skim the headlines. We have some very important activities over the next week and half!
Stanford Invitational and Scott Bauhs Invitational Results: It was an epic first day of October for the Mustang varsity teams as both the girls and the boys set new Monte Vista school records for the Stanford Invitational course! Over at Shadow Cliffs, the rest of the team ran in grade-based races at the Scott Bauhs race where we had several top ten finishers. For more details, see our team's main website: www.eteamz.com/mvxc.
Clovis Invitational: This weekend, the Mustang varsity teams head down to Fresno to compete in the Clovis Invitational, a major race that brings competition from far and wide to test out the same course on which the state meet takes place in November.
Special Workout This Saturday: This Saturday, all runners should do an independent run or workout since Coach Mandee will be in Clovis and there will be no organized practice at school on Saturday. Coach Jensen will explain the Saturday run/workout at practice and we will post it on our team's main website, too: www.eteamz.com/mvxc. Or, how about running in the Starry Night 8.5K race around Lake Merced in San Francisco instead? It will benefit the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Our Mustang XC alumnus Cameron Tremblay-Adams is with the organization and has invited Mustang athletes and families alike to register and race or to volunteer. (Flier attached).
The Run for Education: On Sunday, Oct. 16, lace up and run The Run for Education, formerly “Primo’s Run.” The coaching staff encourages all of our runners (and families!) to get out there and run this fun, flat race that benefits all of our SRVUSD schools. It is not an official team event (CIF policy states that no official team activities can take place on Sundays), but if students choose to get out there and represent their high school, wear their Mustang uniforms, and run together with their XC friends, then more power to them! (Note: varsity runners competing in Mt. SAC should speak with Coach Mandee before signing up for Primo's.)
- Sports Basement Offer: Anyone registering for the 5k or 10k by this Friday at 11:59 p.m. will be entered into a drawing to win one of ten $100 gift cards to the new Sports Basement in San Ramon (details).
Booster's Oktoberfest--It's Not Too Late! There are still tickets available for the Monte Vista Athletic Boosters "Oktoberfest" party taking place this Saturday evening. What a great way to meet other MVHS parents, enjoy food and drink, and support Monte Vista Athletics.
Team Photos Next Tuesday & Team Pasta Feed:
- Students need to come to practice in uniform next Tuesday.
- Order forms to be handed out at practice. Ordering photos is optional but being in uniform for the team photo is required.
- Following the photos, there will be a very short run.
- After the run, the team members will feast on pasta at Oak Hill Park -- gotta load up on carbs before race day!
- Pasta and other items are still needed for the Pasta Feed! Please, please sign up today!
EBAL Center Meet Next Wednesday, Oct. 12:
- It will be in Concord's Newhall Park in the early afternoon.
- There will be buses and athletes will be dismissed early from school (exact time TBD).
- Parent volunteers are still needed -- please sign up! As a reminder, we are counting on all of our parents to volunteer for at least a couple of meet duties this season. If you haven't volunteered yet, please sign up.
- We'll send more details early next week.
Save the Date: Don't forget to check the Calendar page of our team's main website: www.eteamz.com/mvxc for a look ahead to upcoming races and events like our EBAL Championships on Nov. 4 and our Team Banquet on Nov. 8.
Go Mustangs!
Courtney Corda
Asst. Coach on behalf of the coaching staff
P.S. Take any good photos at Scott Bauh's meet? If yes, please email them to me for posting on our team's Facebook page.
2016 Scott Bauhs and Stanford Invitationals
Scott Bauhs and Stanford Invitationals: Record setting day for the Varsity Squads at Stanford as the girls are 4th and the boys 14th in the "seeded" invitational section of this huge meet. Sr Nick Vomund paces the boys today. Sr Meredith Corda take 3rd place in the race - and overall on the day - running an amazing 17:29 time for the full 5K. This ranks her #2 in CA and #32 in the nation! Results here and on xc stats.
At the Scott Bauhs Invite at Shadow Cliffs, the rest of the team lined up for what was the first 3 mile race of the year for many. Ethan and Austin Pendergraft and Elijah Sheppard run the fastest boys times on the day, while Melanie Kim, Olivia Bame and Paige Moldenhauer are the fastest girls. Results on XC stats.
