As we head into the league championship part of the season, here is my fourth version of the NCS Rankings. I will have have another set of rankings heading into the NCS meet followed by a breakdown of the statistical data following the section meet. Feel free to comment on the following rankings. I do not have all league results to peruse so your feedback is appreciated.
Division I Boys (Top 2 teams qualify to state meet)
1) Amador Valley-They have been the most solid team in this division. Shawn Daut leads a battle tested group that has not shied away from competition.
2) Monte Vista-Great effort at Mt. SAC to finish 2nd in their race running 81:30. They packed in six runners between 16:07 and 16:47.
3) Deer Valley-They have put themselves back in the hunt for a state meet berth. Narrow loss to DLS in league meet followed by an impressive win at the Castro Valley Invitational.
4) Castro Valley-Their strong top three includes the streaking Jack Leng but their #4 and #5 are inexperienced freshmen. Just as this division, anything can happen with this team.
5) College Park-Defending NCS champions might be putting it together just in time for a run at another state meet.
On the cusp: Liberty, Foothill, San Ramon Valley, Granada and Antioch.
Division I Girls (Top 2 teams qualify to state meet)
1) Castro Valley-Strongest team in this division that has run up and down the coast and has lots of depth waiting in the wings if necessary.
2) College Park-Defending champions with the individual defending champion, Alycia Cridebring, leading the way.
3/4) California/Granada-Two league rivals have battled all season with no clear cut winner so far.
5) Monte Vista-Strong showing at the Tri-Valley Classic with individual winner Chloe Wood.
News and Announcements
NCS Rankings as Oct 27th, 2007
Local North Coast Section rankings by Albert Caruana - who operates the rapidly expanding "Cross Country Express" web site. Monte Vista makes the list for both Boys (#2) and Girls (#5) in this current edition:
http://albertcaruana.blogspot.com/2007/10/ncs-rankings-4.html
Saturday, October 27, 2007
NCS Rankings #4
NOR-CAL XC RANKINGS
Latest rankings of all Nor-Cal teams, regardless of division:
Norcal Rankings #6
Boys .....................................................Girls
1) Petaluma NCS.....................................1) Carondelet NCS
2) Woodcreek SJS...................................2) Carlmont CCS
3) Skyline OAK......................................3) Davis Sr. SJS
4) Jesuit SJS..........................................4) Campolindo NCS
5) Aptos CCS..........................................5) Ponderosa SJS
6) Amador Valley NCS............................6) Castro Valley NCS
7) Willow Glen CCS................................7) Gunn CCS
8) De La Salle NCS.................................8) Mt. View CCS
9) Del Campo SJS...................................9) St. Ignatius CCS
10) Monte Vista NCS..............................10) St. Francis, Sacramento SJS
Honorable Mention (10 teams in alphabetical order)
Acalanes NCS.........................................Aptos CCS
Bellarmine CCS.......................................College Park NCS
Carlmont CCS..........................................Del Oro SJS
Davis Sr. SJS...........................................Los Gatos CCS
Deer Valley NCS.......................................Maria Carrillo NCS
Grace Davis SJS.......................................Mt. Shasta NS
Los Gatos CCS.........................................Oak Ridge SJS
Mt. View CCS...........................................Placer SJS
Oak Ridge SJS......................................... St. Mary's NCS
Sheldon SJS.............................................Woodcreek SJS
Boys' Individuals
1) German Fernandez (12) Riverbank SJS
2) James Tracy (12) Del Campo SJS
3) James Attarian (12) Dublin NCS
4) Mohammed Abdalla (12) Willow Glen CCS
5) Diego Estrada (12) Alisal CCS
6) Garrett Seawell (11) Woodcreek SJS
7) Nate Beach (12) Acalanes NCS
8) Philip MacQuitty (10) Palo Alto CCS
9) Tyre Johnson (11) Palma CCS
10) Matt Duffy (12) St. Mary's NCS
On the rise:
Brad Surh (12) Carlmont CCS
Jack Leng (12) Castro Valley NCS
Kenny Durell (12) Davis SJS
Girls' Individual
1) Laurynne Chetelat (12) Davis Sr. SJS
2) Sarah Sumpter (12) Healdsburg NCS
3) Jacque Taylor (10) Casa Grande NCS
4) Nicole Hood (10) Carondelet NCS
5) Deborah Maier (12) Ponderosa SJS
6) Diana George (11) Livermore NCS
7) Katy Daly (11) St. Ignatius CCS
8) Rachel Hinds (9) St. Ignatius CCS
9) Stephanie Barnett (11) Leland CCS
10) Justine Fedronic (11) Carlmont CCS
On the rise:
Hayley Pascale (11) Carlmont CCSJackie Evans (9) Gunn CCS
Jennifer Bergman (11) Valley Christian, SJ CCS
Forward Motion Sports - Momentum: Oct 2007 Edition
Newest installment from your friends down at FMS! Features coverage of Stanford, Clovis and other races. Rankings as well as an article examining the "team cheer". Good stuff.
Mustangs visit the historic Mt SAC Invite!
Outstanding weekend for the Varisty Mustangs in Southern California, as Monte Vista brought back an old tradition and attended the 60th running of the Mt SAC Invitational. This press release tells is all:
Celebrating over 60 years, the Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational has become our nation's largest cross country invitational. Last year a record 20,000+ participants competed over ther famed 3 mile cross country course. The names "Valley Loop", "Switchbacks", "Poop Out Hill" and "Reservoir Hill" have become part of cross country legend and lingo. The course has changed little over the last 60 years, making it one of the few courses where different generations can compare times. With races starting every 8 minutes or less (except the Sweepstakes Races) along with the famous Mark Guitierrez designed t-shirts, live webcast/feed and the huge "Big Screen", the event has become the most cherished cross country competition to the hundreds of thousands of runners who have competed in the invitational. The races start on Friday, Oct 19th and ends late Sat on the 20h of Oct. For More info about the meet, visit Mt SAC XC Invite Website
Highlights:
- Alex Morris earns a medal in the JV D1 race (12th), Jake Erlick close behind in 22nd. They race at 7:14am!
- Kim Chin follows that performance by taking 11th in the JV D1 Girls race, medaling as well.
- Varsity Girls get out fast, and stay packed (1:14 1-5 gap) to earn 8th place out of 30 teams in their D1 Varsity Girls Race. MV's 7th runner is in before all but one team (Kimmy in 77th place out of 210 runners). Chloe Wood leads the MV pack in 30th overall, with Nicole Aha once again #2 in 52nd. Top 6 run under 21 minutes!
- Varsity Boys prove there is another NCS D1 team deserving attention!! Stangs get out fast, move well in the hills, and finish in an amazing pack. Earn 2nd in their race (missing 1st by one point). 7th fastest boys team out of 117 in the D1 Varsity Races. 20 second 1-5 gap. Fastest 7th, 6th and 5th man in the entire race. Bhavik, Mike and Dustin earn individual medals. Clinton and Harry in at 22 and 23!
Co-Head Coach (for the weekend) Austin Glimme earns coveted "8th man" award for being EVERYWHERE on the course, cheering on the team from seemingly impossible to reach locations!
But the afternoon trip to Newport Beach, with hours in the sand and surf was probably the teams favorite part of the day. Food was the immediate concern, as the race-hungry harriers attacked the local eateries. Then it was on to the sand, for football, frisbee, body surfing and of course... hole digging?
The Sunday return trip featured an up-close view of one of the large fires that started that day - nearly closing I-5.
A big thank-you to Mrs Rogan (Nunns) and Coach Davis' wife Karla for driving down and helping out all weekend. Great goodie bags!
Who will make the squad for next season? Start making your plans now!
Results: http://www.dyestatcal.com/results/xc2007/October/21%20Week%209/19%20Mt%20SAC/Summary.htm
Videos: http://www.flocasts.org/flotrack/coverage.php?c=108
From Albert Caruana's Cross Country Express site:
Top 10 Times - North Coast Section Boys
1) James Attarian Dublin 14:59
2) Jack Leng Castro Valley 15:17
3) Nate Beach Acalanes 15:37
4) Jeremy Grace Dublin 15:40
5) Sam Hyams Foothill 15:51
6) Hank Carl South Fork 15:57
7) Bhavik Kanzaria Monte Vista 16:03
8) Mike Roderick Monte Vista 16:04
9) Eric Johnson DLS 16:06
10) Spencer Sheaff DLS 16:07
Kenny Smith Willits 16:07
Tri Valley Herald summary of EBAL Center Meet #2
A muddy opening changed the dynamics of the cross country race when three girls put a halt to their opening sprint to stop and put their shoes back on their feet.
It was fortunate that no one was knocked over during the fiasco, but it was enough to scare second-place finisher Colleen Lillig of California High, who finished with a time of 19 minutes, 57.20 seconds.
"One of the girls that lost her shoe was next to me," Lillig said. "She almost spiked me keeping her balance."
A small mishap at the start wasn't enough to stop Lillig, though, as she cruised through the predominantly hilly 3-mile course next to Monte Vista High. Lillig still didn't have enough speed to overcome winner Diana George of Livermore.
"Hills are a strong point for me," Lillig said. "They helped me catch up to her (George). Once you get to the hills, it's all about mental strength."
The hills weren't enough for Lillig to catch George this time, but did help Lillig's Cal team (5-1) to finish second behind the Cowboys (6-0) led by George, with a time of 18:47.03.
"There are no words to describe it," George said of the team's win. "We run a lot of hills in workouts. This course just has a good vibe for us."
The only other girl to break the 20-minute mark was Jessica Infald in 19:58.74.
Boys cross country
Amador Valley showed off what extra summer miles will do Wednesday afternoon with the Dons' top five runners finishing in the top 10.
Dons coach Peter Scarpelli has been hoping for this type of season since joining the program four years ago.
"I've had a five-year plan since I started here," Scarpelli said. "The plan was to make this team great. We've worked on packed running and just getting miles in over the summer."
All of Scarpelli's plans came together with a strong performance from his three, four and five runners. Brett Horning, Mike Marlin and Garrett Ward finished in the three-four-five spot for the team, and all within two seconds of each other.
"It just kinda happened," Ward said. "In the last mile we all came together. Just tried to flow with each other at the end."
Ward and company allowed the Dons to finish with a 6-0 record on the day while Monte Vista's Bhavik Kanzaria pushed his way to first place with a time of 16:35.93.
"I've been getting injured," Kanzaria said. "I lost all my summer training with an ankle injury."
With California's Cmitry Kislyuk on his heels, Kanzaria didn't have much of a chance to find any comfort in the hills. Kislyuk, though, wasn't able catch Kanzaria and settled for second in a time of 16:40.42.