The Monte Vista Invitational - Home of the Eliminator!

Another great day of cross country racing at Monte Vista's own home course.  With the team well trained on the course, the day produced many PR's of a minute or more (earning ice cream treats from the coaches!).   Despite having 5 of the top Frosh Soph moved up to the Varsity Team, the JV girls team continued their season long dominance of the EBAL - finishing with 6 wins and no defeats for the second straight time!  Putting seven runners in the top ten... again, the JV girls rolled to victory.  Kim Abood battled a runner from Cal High for the last 200 meters, side-by-side, before she just got past her at the finish to claim first place!  Siena Sheldon was next in for MV, leading a pack of 5 consecutive Mustangs runners.  Alex D'Souza, Sr Katie Rabago and freshman Mel White completed the scoring, with Kaity Thomas and Erin Lin also finishing in the top ten. 

The JV boys were ready for action, having gone 4-2 at the first Center Meet.  This time, in "our house", the guys were not going to go quietly.  Sophomore Dan Awai followed the lead pack patiently through the first mile, then made his move in the hills.  He too battled for the lead down the final stretch, just being outkicked by a tough SRV runner.  In close packing, Amis Matulionis, Ty Trail and Jake Erlick finished 4th, 7th and 10th respectively, while Rahul Avasarala held on to be their 5th man, finishing in a solid 20th place.  Those 4 are all freshman!  Brian Kerekes (26th) and Luke Hatton (31st) were the 6th and 7th runners (with Drew Terry right behind in 32nd).  When the scores were calculated  - the team had completed a 6-0 day, edging out SRV 26 to 29 in the closest contest.  Every place was critical!

The Varsity Girls were up next, and from the start, it was obvious that they were ready to proudly defend the course and The Eliminator.  Unlike the first Center Meet at Shadow Cliffs, the girls got a great start, and were packed well in the front through the first mile.  While the SRV and Granada 'packs' moved up steadily in the hills, the Lady Stangs did not lose their tight packing in the hills, and at the finish, placed 6 runners in close proximity to each other.  Junior Chloe Wood had a standout day - finishing first for the team (her 2nd time doing so) and breaking into the top 20 in 18th place.  Jr Lauren Ho continues to improve each race, as she was next across the line in 22nd place.  Renee Lau, Kim Chin (also Jrs) and frosh standout Nicole Aha finished consecutively in 28th, 29th and 30th.  Nicole made up a lot of ground during the race to join that tight pack.  Critical to the outcome, Jr Brett Zorich was our 6th runner only 2 places behind Nicole, and this proved to be the deciding factor as Monte Vista ended up in a 'tie' with both Livermore and Amador Valley,  In XC, the 6th runner breaks the tie, and Brett was ahead of both of those schools 6th runner - tipping the points to us!  Despite not having a top 10 finisher, the girls were 3-3 on the day, due to the tight packing.  Only 46 seconds separated our #1 runner (Chloe) and our #6 runner (Brett). 

Last up were the Varsity Boys, who found themselves somewhat short handed due to injuries.  Sr Captain Jake Smith has been troubled with foot pain, while Jr Danny Bartz is now out for the season with a hip flexor strain.  Also, Jr Bhavik Kanzaria - who finished first overall at the initial Center Meet - was coming off an ankle sprain and was not able to run well with his tightly taped ankle.  He made a gallant effort to race, but was not able to run with the leaders, finishing back in 43rd place.  Not to be discouraged, the Varsity Boys gave it all they had!  Up front, Soph Mike Roderick and Jr Clinton McAdams got into a strong early position, and held firm throughout the difficult race.  Each improved over 5 places from the first Center race, finishing 18th and 19th respectively.  Running only his second varsity race, Soph Alex Morris was the Stangs third runner, in a very solid 30th place.  Alex looks to be cementing a varsity spot with his steady improvements!  After Bhavik (4th runner), Jr Harry Nunns completed the scoring for the guys, with Jr Tyler Breen and Sr Jake Smith rounding out the top 7.  While finishing only 1-5 on the day, there were still positive signs.  Only 16 seconds separated Mike, Clinton and Alex, which is a great performance.  Despite the injuries, the stangs were only 6pts behind two of the teams, which gives them something to shoot for when a healthy (we hope!) squad toes the line again at the EBAL Championships.

Full results can be found in the handout below. 

Great job team!  Train hard for EBAL Championships!

Monte Vista Team Results -
F/S Girls = 3rd place
F/S Boys = 12th place
JV Girls = 5th place
JV Boys  = TBD
Varsity Girls = 8th place
Varsity Boys  = 6th place
Coaches Race = Coach Davis 10th place!

Congratulations to the following Mustang XC individual medalists at Castro Valley:
Anna Hoyt - F/S Girls race
Kristin Hugo  - JV Girls race
Jack Heiting - JV Boys race
Cameron Trembley-Adams - JV Boys race
Clinton McAdams - Varsity Boys race
__________________________

Results from Castro Valley Invite, as reported by Dyestat.  Full story and photo's to follow.
__________________________

Saturday October 14th, 2006
Castro Valley MS - 3.0 miles

13th Castro Valley Invitational
Canyon Middle School, Castro Valley
Satruday, October 14, 2006

Boys’ Varsity
3.0 miles
hilly course
(192 finishers)

Blake McDowell of Montgomery ran away with this race over the last hilly mile to claim the individual win. College Park dominated the team race to easily fend off North Coast Division I competitors Liberty and Castro Valley.

1. Blake McDowell Montgomery 16:14
2. Jeremy Rubio College Park 16:24
3. Wyat Landrum Liberty 16:42
4. Brian Cameron College Park 16:51
5. Kevin Ota College Park 16:53
6. James Fazzio Catro Valley 16:52
7. Sean Anderson College Park 16:56
8. Mike Sandoval Tokay 17:07
9. Ivan Bojorquez Los Banos 17:08
10. Nate Calhoun Mission, SF 17:19
11. Jack Leng Castro Valley 17:19
12. Jeremy Cutcher Montgomery 17:23
13. Chase Wilson Head Royce 17:24
14. Matt Riley Castro Valley 17:25
15. Carl Swanson Alhambra 17:26
16. Dmitry Kislyuk California 17:27
17. Martin MIller Arroyo 17:28
18. Kyle Trantum Liberty 17:29
19. Josh Chaidez College Park 17:33
20. Johnny Cattolico Liberty 17:36
21. Devin Carter Liberty 17:36
22. Brian Fix Moreau Catholic 17:41
23. Matt Humphreys Antioch 17:43
24. Tommy Saitz Freedom 17:44
25. Anthony Natera Tokay 17:52

1. College Park 33
2. Liberty 81
3. Castro Valley 109
4. Tokay 160
5. Montgomery 161
6. Monte Vista 228
7. Antioch 231
8. Moreau Catholic 247
9. Pittsburg 158
10. Albany 271
11. Berean Christian 313
12. Arroyo 346
13. Westmoor 365
14. James Logan 380
15. St. Teresa 399
16. Freedom 465
17. Granada 465
18. Casa Grande 479
19. Concord 492
20. American 510
21. James Lick 548
22. Mission (San Francisco) 566
23. San Lorenzo 568
24. El Molino 609
25. Salesian 621
26. Washington (San Francisco) 677

Girls’ Varsity
3.0 miles
hilly course

In the war of the fleet freshwomen, Jaque Taylor of Casa Grande prevailed over Alycia Cridebring of College Park. College Park, even with SAT defections, was able to hold off Castro Valley by a point for the team win. Taylor’s time was 3rd best ever on this course, behind only North Coast legends Kristen Gordon of Carondelet (18:13 in 1996) and Sara Bei of Montgomery (18:16 in 2000).

1. Jaque Taylor Casa Grande 18:28
2. Alycia Cridebring College Park 18:47
3. Britny Escamilla El Molino 19:27
4. Beth Raymond Washington (Fremont) 19:38
5. Chelsea Schneider Castro Valley 20:02
6. Ashley Chan Arroyo 20:12
7. Mellie Regalado Antioch 20:19
8. Lauren Crawford College Park 20:19
9. Kelsey Gallagher College Park 20:27
10. Dani Glaeser Foothill 20:33
11. Anna Smidebush Concord 20:34
12. Katie Druen Modesto 20:41
13. Samantha Kearny Arroyo 20:43
14. Holly Babcock California 20:45
15. Lauren Dubay American 20:48
16. Terry Richardson Washington (Fremont) 20:54
17. Jin-Mee Leal Arroyo 20:54
18. Kaitlin Santisteban Castro Valley 20:54
19. Heide Salcedo Los Banos 21:08
20. Cynthia Aguilera Liberty 21:15
21. Karlina Beringer Castro Valley 21:19
22. Kristan hammerastrom East Union 21:22
23. Kwai Philpott Castgro Valley 21:24
24. Eli Obando College Park 21:27
25. Dominique Ratto Casa Grande 21:28

1 College Park 64
2. Castro Valley 65
3. Arroyo 88
4. Antioch 144
5. Casa Grande 150
6. Albany 172
7. East Union 187
8. Monte Vista 205
9. El Molino 220
10. St. Teresa 269
11. American 275
12. Moreau Catholic 281
13. Vacaville Christian 345
14. Montgomery 390
15. James Lick 396

Great article found in High School Runner.  Overcome common running issues through the food you eat!  See attached handout.

Great road trip for the Varsity Boys and Girls team.  Traditions passed on from past teams continued, as decorated vans and loud music set the tone for the 3 hour trip to Fresno.  One van watched "Ferris Buehlers Day Off" to get into the mood!  Upon arriving at Woodward park, the team changed into running clothes and checked out the full course while Coach Davis checked the team in and made last minute roster changes.  A little frisbee action later, it was time to head to Chili's - a tradition that just won't be broken.  "Monte Vista, table for 22!"  Then it's off to the Piccadilly Inn, where the team checked out the pool and met runners from a team from the "OC".  A couple hours of socializing, and then it's curfew time and lights out.

Up early the next day, the team had breakfast at the hotel before heading back to Woodward Park for a full day.  The Varsity Girls ran at 10:30, followed by the VB team at 11.  Alex Morris, as the only JV alternate, had to wait until nearly 2 pm until his race unfolded.  Not to be intimidated, Alex places 58th out of over 200 runners, while the rest of the team cheered him on.  Then it's on to In-N-Out, and a quick trip back to MV... and that's how MV does Clovis.  Many more stories, but you'll have to ask one of the team members for details. 

"Meet me in the chute"

Meet results at:
http://www.dyestatcal.com/results/xc2006/October/07Clovis/Index.htm

Varsity Girls
98  Brett Zorich  21:02
104  Renee Lau   21:10
129  Chloe Wood   21:53
139  Kim Chin   22:06
147  Christie Beeman   22:28
148  Taysa Bowers   22:30
154  Lauren Ho   22:35

191 runners.  MV 24th out of 32 teams.  1:48.4 team time.  1:26 spread 1st to 5th runner

Varsity Boys
20  Bhavik Kanzaria   16:39
75  Mike Roderick   17:31
101  Clinton McAdams   17:47
119  Tyler Breen   18:01
127  Jake Smith   18:11
139  Keith Romoser  18:25
178  Danny Bartz   21:23 (inj)

184 runners.  MV 19th out of 29 teams.  1:28.1 team time.  1:32 spread 1st to 5th runner

JV Boys
58th  Alex Morris - MV - 18:58

218 runners.