Here are the 2nd edition of the NCS Rankings after 4 weeks of racing. Some teams have been very busy racing up and down the coast while other teams are keeping a low profile. Feel free to comment on the rankings below.
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NCS Rankings (D1 and D2) as of Oct 1st
Monday, October 01, 2007
NCS Rankings #3
Here is the 3rd edition of the NCS Rankings following this weekend's meets. Some great divisional battles are shaping up, which will lead to a very exciting and competitive NCS meet at Hayward. Feel free to comment on the list below.
Division I Boys (Top 2 teams qualify to state meet)
1) Amador Valley-Maintained their #1 ranking with their victorious effort at the Stanford Invitational in the Division I race.
2) Monte Vista-Finally ran their full compliment of runners at Stanford. Nice team effort with 18 second gap between 1st. through 6th. runner.
3) College Park-Defending NCS champions with lots of returning runners and history. Can they put it together again for another state meet run?
Here is my order for the following six teams in the incredibly deep Div. I field: Castro Valley, Granada, Deer Valley, San Ramon Valley, Liberty and Foothill.
Division I Girls (Top 2 teams qualify to state meet) Edited 10/2
1) Castro Valley-Finished 2nd. at the Ram Invitational with 2 of their top 5 not racing in the Varsity race.
2) College Park-Only lost by a point to the suddenly potent Campolindo group in their league clash.
3) California-Ran in the seeded race at Stanford finishing 16th and was highest Division I placer overall.
On the cusp: Granada-Finished 8th at Stanford Division I race, claiming highest NCS placing in that race.
Division II Boys (Top 3 teams qualify to state meet)
1) Petaluma-They finished 9th overall at Stanford and were the 2nd. highest Norcal placer behind Woodcreek.
2) De La Salle-2nd. place finish at Stanford in Division II race to an always strong Galena team. One of the best team in NCS regardless of division.
3) Montgomery-Gets the edge over Santa Rosa with sub. 1 minute 1-5 gap at their last league race.
Division II Girls (Top 3 teams qualify to state meet)
1) Carondelet-Winning effort at the Nike Pre-National meet. Ranked #9 in latest Harrier National Rankings.
2) Casa Grande-Dominique Taylor gives CG a strong #2 behind Taylor. 6th runner ran 21:16 at Stanford which means good depth.
3) Santa Rosa-Top 10 finish at Stanford with two strong runners (Eva Stuart and Emmy Cozine) leading the way.
Stanford Invitational - 2007
STANFORD INVITE Sat Sept 29th
Mustangs head to Stanford University's golf course to run with the best in the state!
JV Boys - 13th out of 30 (1st NCS D1 team in JV)
JV Girls - 12th out of 36 (1st NCS D1&D2 team in JV)
Varsity Boys - 5th out of 49 (2nd NCS team in D1)
Varsity Girls - 11th out of 36 (2nd NCS team in D1)
Results - http://www.sml1.com/recordtiming/stanford/xc_invite07/
Boys D1 Race Video:
http://www.dyestatcal.com/image/7xc/September/29%20Stanford/Video%20DS/09-Boys1V_1.wmv
Stellar day of cross country running by all four MV squads, capped off with the Varsity Boys taking 5th place in their D1 race. They put an amazing 6 people in by the 52nd runner, out of a field of over 360. Only 18 seconds between #1 runner (Sr Bhavik Kanzaria) and #6 (Jr Mike Roderick). Mike was the fasted #6 runner in the entire race (49 teams). Close behind Bhavik - and we mean it - was Seniors Harry Nunns, Dustin Harris, Danny Bartz and Clinton McAdams. Jr Connor Donley was the 7th man in a PR time. Only Amador Valley (1st place!) was ahead of MV among NCS D1 teams.
The varsity girls turned some heads in the EBAL and NCS by taking 11th in the D1 girls race, with only Granada being ahead of them among EBAL teams and in NCS (Cal HS ran in the Seeded Race later in the day). Sr Chloe Wood led a balanced squad that only had 1 minute, 10 seconds between #1 and #5. Soph Nicole Aha turned in her best race of the season to finish 2nd, with Renee Lau, Kaitlin Kelly and Kimmy Abood rounding out the scoring. Sr's Brett Zorich and Kim Chin rounded out the squad.
Earlier in the day, the JV boys took 13th out of 30 teams, and were the first team from the NCS to finish. Soph Jake Erlick took the individual honors for the Mustangs in the 3K race, followed closely by Freshman Kevin Ho. Amis Matuilonis (So), Alex Morris (Jr) and Tyler Breen (Sr) rounded out the scoring. Jr Chris Hassoon was 6th, and Jr Colton Anderson, who was not even dressed to race (he came to cheer) jumped in to finish out the team!
The JV girls took 12th out of 36 teams in a race that combined D1 and D2 teams into one race. As with the boys, no other NCS team finished higher! Soph Anna Hoyt was the top finisher, leading a close pack consisting of Sr Lauren Ho, and Jr's Alex D'Souza, Julia Mason and Kirstin Ratliff. Sr Taysa Bowers was the 6th and final runner for the Stangs.
A large group of teammates traveled with the bus to help cheer on the team - which was certainly appreciated by the runners and coaches!
Coach Davis' camera malfunctioned, AFTER Soph Emily Bartz spent the whole day taking great photos. Darn. If you want so get a feel for it - look at the Dyestatcal web site for videos of the varsity races.
Results: http://www.sml1.com/recordtiming/stanford/xc_invite07/
Race Videos: http://www.dyestatcal.com/results/xc2007/September/30%20Week%20Six/29%20Stanford/Summary.htm
Local Press covers Amador Valley's Boys XC Team
Dons, Panthers enjoy run of success |
Contra Costa Times Contra Costa Times |
Article Launched:09/28/2007 03:11:22 AM PDT |
IF YOU'VE BEEN following the local high school cross country scene this month, you know that Carondelet and Nicole Hood have been dominant.
You know that Acalanes' Nate Beach gave North Coast Section and state competitors something to think about with his victory at the De La Salle/Carondelet Nike Invitational. You probably know that St. Mary's Matt Duffy already has victories at the Ed Sias Invitational and Iolani Invitational in Hawaii on Saturday. But what about some team performances that might be more under the radar? Here are a couple of them: "It was our first three-mile race. They looked strong. They are hungry, and they can do some neat things this year," Amador Valley coach Peter Scarpelli said about his squad. "I look forward to seeing where this journey goes." On Saturday, the Dons placed sixth in the sweepstakes race of the Pepperdine Invitational. Scarpelli has preached pack running to his team, and his top five runners have finished with less than a 55-second gap at both the Nike and Pepperdine invitationals. The Dons have one senior in their top five, and it's their No. 1 runner, Shawn Daut. There are three juniors in the top five (Garrett Ward, Mike Marlin and Brett Hornig) and one sophomore (Kellen Cole). One of the team's goals is an East Bay Athletic League title, which would be quite an accomplishment for the program. The boys team has not won a league title in 10 years. The squad also would like to finish in the top two at the NCS championship meet in the Division I race. But both those championship meets are more than a month away. Scarpelli wants his team to focus on the task at hand. "We'll try not to get caught up (in the early success)," he said. "(The De La Salle/Carondelet Invitational was) a good confidence builder, but we have to keep to task."
On Saturday, St. Mary's placed third at the Iolani Invitational. One of the two teams ahead of the Panthers was Redlands, which is ranked third in the most recent Nike Team National's California rankings. "They get along really well with each other, and they push each other. They work really hard," said St. Mary's girls coach Denis Mohun about his squad. "For the 20 years I have been coaching, this is the most exciting and fun group I've worked with." The Panthers are young, with three sophomores in their top seven and only one senior. "Last year they ran fairly well and were introduced to the sport," said Mohun about his team, which competed in the California Interscholastic Federation Division IV state championship race last season. "The whole core of them clicked last year." The gap between the Panthers' top four runners at the Iolani Invitational (sophomores Alex Choy and Taylor Lawson and juniors Margot Sullivan and Alice Baker) was just 45 seconds. Mohun would love to see that pack time tighten Saturday at the Stanford Invitational Division IV race. "We're still under the radar because we still haven't proven anything. We still have a lot of work to do," Mohun said. STANFORD: Besides the Panthers, many other local teams will travel across the Bay on Saturday for the Stanford Invitational. There are high school races for each division, as well as seeded races. The first race is the Division V boys race at 9:46 a.m. Collegiate races start at 4:15 p.m. The Fall Notebook covers a different high school sport each week. Contact Phil Jensen at pjensen@bayareanewsgroup.com.
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2007 Overnight Relay results
Featuring the largest group to ever attack the event, the 2007 MVXC squad blasted mile after mile through the night and into the morning, with a clear purpose of becoming the all-time record breaking team. It was close from the very begining, as the pace computer showed the team hovering around a 108 mile projection throughout most of the event. The record, thought to be 109 by the coaches and seniors, looked to be reachable.
While the runners blasted away, a variety of now famous events were being carried out on the field. The weather, which looked iffy at first, cooperated with a nice evening. The neighbors cooperated as well, allowing us to play music and keep a bank of lights on all night (a tad harsh on the eyes those lights were, but it was better than darkness). Coach Austin brought in some new games, including the group parachute, a field goal contest, and the largest 4-square battle most have ever seen! Hint to the team - Coach Austin is a trained 4-square professional. Play at your own risk! TV's and sofa's were again the rage, and video games, card games, and games that the coaches barely understand were raging all night. Coach Davis made the rounds looking to impound any energy drinks he found. The seniors looked to spread terror on any groups of underclassmen that fell asleep. It was great - as usual.
Back on the track, it came down to a furious push at the end. All non injured runners ran at least once, and nobody ran a shared or split mile. With less than 30 minutes left, the team was still under the target of 109 miles, but gaining. A few sub 5 minute miles by the varsity boys brought the crowd to the edge of the track, forming a "tunnel of arms" for the last few runners. When Junior Alex Morris took the baton for the last laps, there was less than two minutes remaining on the clock. He completed 1 and 2/3rds lap, approx a 700 meter effort. That left the team with 109 miles, 700 meters.....
....which falls a measly 100 meters shy of the 2002 squads' record of 109.5 miles. AGHHHHHHH! Coach Davis went home and poured through the old results, looking for an error in 2002 that would give the current team the crown. But it wasn't to be - the time is legit, and that team did not share miles. In fact, they did it on a dirt track that was techincally a 440 yard track, making their effort even more remarkable. It should be noted that the 2002 team was much smaller, so the members ran multiple times, and that team featured a girls squad that won NCS and went to state, and a boys team featuring 3 runners who would go on and run in college.
So the 2007 team has the #2 all time mark, and while EVERYONE can probably think of 100 meters that could have been made up during the 109 miles run - you can be proud of what you accomplished out there.
At 8am, when Coach Martha, Coach Austin and Coach Davis locked up the stadium, it was sparkling clean, ready for the new week.
Thank you to all the parents who helped during the night, and to all of you who donated money to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum. A final tally will be announced soon.
NCS Rankings as of Sept 19th
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Division I Boys
1) Amador Valley-Most complete team in Division I so far this season. Impressive 2nd at DLS/Carondelet Nike Invitational.
2) Monte Vista-2nd to Skyline at Ed Sias without #1 runner. 6th at DLS/Car Invite without #2 runner. 1-6 back from last year.
3) Castro Valley-Tough duo up front (Leng and Fazzio) with talented freshman #4. With strong 5th could run with anybody.
Really strong division this year. With NCS only sending 2 teams to state meet, some very good teams are going to be left home during Thanksgiving weekend. Teams right on the cusp: College Park, San Ramon Valley, Foothill, Granada, Liberty and Deer Valley.
Division I Girls
1) Castro Valley-Ran close race to Carondelet at Ed Sias. As long as they stay healthy, will be very tough to beat.
2) College Park-Alycia Cridebring leads the way. 3rd place finish at DLS/Car Invite with F/S taking 1st. Close 1 point loss to Campolindo in first DFAL meet.
3) Granada-Finished in 4th place at DLS/Car Invite. Returns 2-5 from last year's 3rd place NCS Div. I team.