North Coast
Section
November 19,
2016-Hayward High School
NCS/Les
Schwab Cross Country Championships Race Schedule and Preview
Hayward High School will once again be the host for the 13th straight year with a slightly altered course due to construction. The three-mile course features multiple loops, which allows spectators to view much of the course from the middle of the grass fields.
RACE SCHEDULE (Same order as CA State Meet)
WALK THE COURSE 7:00am -
8:15am
8:30am Division IV Boys' Race
9:00am Division V Boys' Race
9:30am Division
IV Girls' Race
10:05am Division V Girls' Race
10:40am Division I Boys' Race
11:10am Division II Girls' Race
11:45am Division
III Boys' Race
12:15pm Division I Girls' Race
12:50pm Division II Boys' Race
1:20pm Division
III Girls' Race
Awards
Schedule: (in the
gymnasium)
10:00am Division IV Boys
10:20am Division
IV Girls
10:40am Division V Boys
11:00am Division V Girls
11:20am Division I Boys
11:50am Division II Girls
12:25pm Division
III Boys
12:55pm Division I Girls
1:30pm Division II Boys
1:55pm Division
III Girls
The NCS Divisions are as follows:
Division I 2,639 and above
Division II 1,850 - 2,638
Division III 1,274 - 1,849
Division IV 601 - 1,273
Division V 600
and fewer
NCS Preview:
Thank you very much to all the coaches and athletes who
helped me break down each division. The
following is my best attempt to predict the top 5-7 teams as well as the top
individuals for each division (boys and girls) in today's section meet. The teams from this meet that will qualify
for the State Meet at Woodward Park in Fresno on November 26th are
noted for each division. The top 5
individuals from each race will also qualify to the state meet provided they
are in the top 12 when 2 teams qualify, top 14 when 3 teams qualify, top 16
when 4 teams qualify, top 18 when 5 teams qualify, top 20 when 6 teams qualify
and top 22 when 7 teams qualify.
The winning teams in each division will receive plaques. The top 2 teams in each division will receive pennants. The top 3 teams in each division will receive medals. Seven (7) medals will be provided per team of seven. The top 7 individuals in each race will receive medals.
Division I
Girls - (Top
2 teams advance to state meet):
1. Castro Valley
2. Dougherty Valley
3. James Logan
4. Berkeley
5. California
The favorite to win the individual title this year is the WACC 6th place finisher, Castro Valley's Danika Newlin. She ran 18:46.24 on the altered Hayward course and will come into this meet as the top seed. Chasing Newlin will be Dougherty Valley sophomore Aushmitha Grewel and California junior Kayla Neumann. Sophie Phillips of Berkeley has the fastest 5k season time in this division.
Boys - (Top
2 teams advance to state meet):
1. Dougherty Valley
2. Berkeley
3. James Logan
4. Castro Valley
5. California
The overwhelming favorite to win the individual title is Dougherty Valley senior, Neil Braganza. He rolled to the EBAL title over a very tough field with a time of 14:52.21 on the Shadow Cliffs course. The next runner in sight should be a familiar one in teammate Quinn Schmidt. He will be battling Berkeley's #1 runner Sebastian Andersson, the 2nd place finisher at the WACC final. Also in the mix will be Tommy Bell (Dougherty Valley) and Reilly Berberian (Castro Valley).
Division II
Girls - (Top
3 teams advance to state meet):
1. Granada
2. San Ramon Valley
3. Monte Vista
4. Liberty
5. Dublin/Amador
Valley/College Park
Meredith Corda, Monte Vista senior, is no stranger to section titles. Her team won the team title in Division I during her first three HS seasons. She placed 7th individually as a freshman, 1st as a sophomore and 3rd last year. She won the EBAL individual title ahead of the Granada foursome and Amanda Olla of SRV. Granada sophomore Kinga Bihari has placed high consistently throughout the season and will pose a challenge to Corda. Liberty senior Kai Bohannon has been an individual stallworth for 3 years and will hope for more individual glory while trying to lead her team to the state meet. Also in the mix will be Granada sophomore Colleen McCandless and teammates Kalea Bartolotto and Grace Dupuis.
Boys - (Top
3 teams advance to state meet):
1. Dublin
2. Monte Vista
3. De La Salle
4. Granada
5. Amador Valley/Clayton
Valley/Mission San Jose
The runners at the front end of this race will be battling for the win as well as trying to secure valuable team points. The slight favorite at this point is Dublin senior Anirudh Surapaneni. He finished 2nd at the EBAL final just ahead of De La Salle senior Isaias De Leon. Monte Vista senior Tristan Miller also has his sights on a section crown and is within striking distance of the top two runners. Santa Rosa senior Luca Mazzanti won the NBL crown and has proved worthy for consideration here. A wild card in the field will be Dublin's Adrian Schroeder. He placed ahead of his teammate earlier this season at multiple meets and can't be counted out.
Division III
Girls - (Top
4 teams advance to state meet):
1. Maria Carrillo
2. Campolindo
3. Alameda
4. Redwood
5. Carondelet/Tamalpais/Las Lomas/El Cerrito
Redwood senior Glennis Murphy comes in as the slight favorite. She has proven to be a tough competitor and has risen to the challenge in big races like last year's Footlocker West meet where she qualified for the National meet. Campolindo juniors Hannah Ruane and Isabella Chao have logged a lot of miles together this past summer and fall. They have consistently finished in the top 3 in a lot of races and it will be no different here. Alameda sophomore Lauren Lum will hope to lead her teammates to a section title by challenging for her own individual title first.
Boys - (Top
4 teams advance to state meet):
1. Campolindo
2. Redwood
3. Maria Carrillo
4. Northgate
5. Las Lomas
The individual favorite in this race finished a surprising 2nd place in the division II race behind teammate Andy Ehrenberg. Then freshman Liam Anderson, torched the Hayward course in a very impressive 15:28.8. He is no longer flying under the radar and will need his best effort to hold off the rest of the field. Jared Yabu, just like Anderson, rolled on his team's varsity as a frosh and has a top 10 finish under his belt at the state meet. He will keep Anderson in striking distance hoping for his first individual title. Northgate senior Omar Kabbani (9:49.1) and Maria Carrillo junior Ben Lawson (9:50.5) both competed in the Hoka One One 3200 meter race last Friday and both look ready to drop a fast time on the Hayward course. Denny Rich of Washington won the MVAL with a time of 15:26.7.
Division IV
Girls - (Top
4 teams advance to state meet):
1. Piedmont
2. Bishop O'Dowd
3. Miramonte
4. McKinleyville
5. Arcata
One thing for certain today and that is Morgin Coonfield of McKinleyville will not win her 4th straight section individual title. She has now taken her talents to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. That leaves the favorite role to Miramonte sophomore Cassy Haskell. She finished in 2nd place at the state meet in Division III and will be the fastest returning runner from that meet. Bishop O'Dowd senior Jourdan Amen will contend for a top 5 spot here and try to keep Haskell within visual contact. Riley Harmon of Albany won her league meet and will be among the leaders here along with Shelby Nelson of Encinal.
Boys - (Top
3 teams advance to state meet):
1. Bishop O'Dowd
2. McKinleyville
3. Miramonte
4. Sir Francis Drake
5. Albany/Piedmont
The individual favorite will be Hercules senior, Ryan Cutter. He won the Stanford Invitational Division IV race and gained valuable experience at the Farmer and Clovis Invitationals. His main competition will come from last year's 3rd place finisher, Arcata senior Kellen O'Neill. Also in the mix will be San Rafael junior Munir Kibbara who finished behind Cutter and in front of O'Neill at Stanford. Other top runners in the chase pack will include Reece Proctor (Piedmont), Jonathan Fierro and James Bull (Miramonte), the 3 Bishop O'Dowd runners (Cole Kretlow, Aaron Gonzalez and Thomas Murphy) and Darren Leung (Albany).
Division V
Girls - (Top
6 teams advance to state meet):
1. St. Joseph Notre
Dame
2. Sonoma Academy
3. Lick-Wilmerding
4. University
5. College Prep
6. Convent/Branson/Urban
Sonoma Academy runner Rylee Bowen repeated as section and state meet champion once again last season. SJND runner Kiera Marshall kept her honest all the way finishing 2nd behind her in both races. Both runners are back this year and more than likely one or the other will be crowned section champ. Bowen will be slightly favored once again given her past accomplishments. Also in the mix of top contenders will be Bowen #2, Katie. She has finished behind big sister all season and is not afraid to go out with the leaders. SJND have their own dynamic duo with Marshall and sophomore Emily Perez.
Boys - (Top
5 teams advance to state meet):
1. St. Joseph Notre
Dame
2. University
3. Sonoma Academy
4. College Prep
5. Lick-Wilmerding
6. Marin Academy
While we do not have many lockdown favorites in this meet, there is definitely an individual favorite here. St. Joseph Notre Dame senior Cooper Teare will win this race as easily as possible trying to save himself for the state meet and beyond. He will have a tough opponent in Brian Schulz of El Molino as well as Stuart Hall senior, Eli Horwitz, Lick-Wilmerding junior Sean Laidlaw and SJND senior, Willie Mein.