North Coast Section XC Season Preview

Division I

The largest teams in the North Coast Section are ironically in the smallest division which fields only eight teams. (You can view Divisions I as well as all the divisions at this LINK and you can view the already posted pre-season Division IV rankings at this LINK.)

Last year, due to bad air quality, the NCS meet had to be stopped before all divisions were able to run. Division 1 was not one of those. The Dublin boys nearly swept their race scoring 18 points while Dougherty Valley edged Amador Valley by one point to claim the second and final State Meet berth. Dublin senior Loic Scomparin captured the individual title.

For the girls, Amador Valley captured the section title with 35 points and finished just 8 points ahead of Daugherty Valley. Dublin finished in 3rd place as Amador Valley sophomore Hope Bergmark captured her first individual title.

This coming season, the Dublin boys will be strong favorites to win their 4th section title in a row. Dublin won the Division II titles in 2016 and 2017 before winning Division I last season. Senior Christopher Middleton-Pearson (4:09.46/9:09.19) takes over the No. 1-runner spot from Scomparin, who graduated. Middleton-Pearson placed second at the NCS meet and eighth at the California State Meet. Three other runners return for Dublin from last year's second team: Surya MarimuthuKyle Elias and Rohan Fonseka.

From the 2018 track & field season, Dublin will have 24 sub-5 minute 1600-meter runners returning and eight of those runners dipped under the 10-minute mark for the 3200m.

Amador Valley should be the next strongest team and will be led by Jack Gray (4:34.66/9:44.30) and Aidan McCarthy (4:21.21/9:37.24). A real wildcard for Amador Valley is rising junior John Lester (1:52.99/4:29.92). He made the transition to the 800m last season with a spectacular seveth place finish at State.

For Dougherty Valley, Michael Schneider (4:38.01/9:51.95) and Nirmal Ayyagari (4:43.84) are the top two returners from last year's section meet and will hope to spring another upset on the field in order to qualify for another State Meet.

The Amador Valley girls swept the top three individual spots last year to win their first team title since 1995 when they won their first section title in the Division II race.

Although Amador Valley returns its top two runners from 2018, it will start the season as slight underdogs to Dougherty Valley, which will be led by the rising sophomores, Rhea Braganza (2:27.21/5:17.96/11:58.61) and Eva Shen (5:39.61/11:59.51). The Wildcats last won this section in 2017 and will hope for their third section title in the school's still brief history.

Amador Valley will have both the defending individual champion in rising junior Hope Bergmark (2:22.59/5:10.55/10:46.50) and the runner-up Derica Su (5:22.98/11:34.38) from last year's section event. They need to shore up their varsity depth following the graduation of four key runners in order to challenge for a repeat title.

Maia Marquez placed fifth at last year's section final as a freshman. She will be looking to lead Dublin to a top-2 finish and a very coveted State Meet berth.

Division 1 Boys (Top 2 Advance to State)
1) Dublin - The best overall team in this section the past few seasons.
2) Amador Valley - Missed the state meet by one point in 2018.
3) Dougherty Valley - Section champs in 2016 and 2017.
4) James Logan - The largest school in the section should not be overlooked.
5) California - Good program that finished in 4th here last year.

Top 5 returning individuals
(NCS Place, Name, School, Time)
2. Christopher Middleton-Pearson (Dublin) 15:00.6
5. Surya Marimuthu (Dublin) 15:15.2
6. Kyle Elias (Dublin) 15:22.1
7. Jack Gray (Amador Valley) 15:23.4
9. Aidan McCarthy (Amador Valley) 15:27.9

Division 1 Girls (Top 2 Advance to State)
1) Dougherty Valley - Their depth places them as the favorites this fall.
2) Amador Valley - Defending champion will need to replace 4 seniors.
3) Dublin - Finished 3rd last year but hoping for top 2 finish next fall.
4) California - Strong top 2 runners make them a dangerous threat.
5) Castro Valley - Will need to race well to repeat last year's 5th place finish.

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2018 NCS meet time:
(NCS Place, Name, School, Time)
1. Hope Bergmark (Amador Valley) 17:45.0
2. Derika Su (Amador Valley) 18:27.0
5. Maia Marquez (Dublin) 18:42.6
6. Rhea Braganza (Dougherty Valley) 18:48.6
8. Madeleine Liem (California) 18:54.6