The following preview is courtesy of De La Salle assistant coach Tony Roberts (photo above courtesy of De La Salle HS). We will be onsite covering this meet and will post photos as well as a review of the meet following the conclusion of Saturday's competition.
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First, we would like to thank all the teams who have supported the De Le Salle Invitational over the past quarter of a century. Our goal has continually been to host a competitive meet with plenty of medals and Nike swag up for grabs. This year we have moved up the distance of our JV races to three miles. Hopefully, this will allow schools to have a better JV to Varsity comparison. The map below is courtesy of Jesuit coach, Walt Lange.
Speaking of Varsity...
Girls individuals to look out for: Hope Bergmark of Amador Valley seems to be kicking off her season at the DLS Invite and should challenge for the individual title. Alicia Hober and Paloma Hancock of Campolindo were missing in action last week but are set to toe the line this weekend and should be hard miss up in front. Anna Weirich of Harker is coming off a recent second-place finish at the Jackie Henderson Memorial, while Sarah Perry of Woodside placed fourth at the Lowell Invitation; look for both of these girls to try to improve their placing this weekend.
Girls teams to look out for: Some of the top girls' program from around the area will be competing for the embroidered DLS Champion Nike backpacks. Dougherty Valley is coming off of a victory last weekend at the Ed Sias Invitational and will face off against section and league rivals Amador Valley for the team title.
Campolindo will also be a threat for the backpacks with a fully powered squad this weekend. North Medford is taking the trip down from Oregon after coming off of a victory from the Rogue River Booster Invitational.
Boys individuals to look out for: The course record of 14:59 is in trouble when Matt Strangio of Jesuit takes off from the start line this weekend. Strangio will have his hands full trying to hold off top talent like Christopher Middleton-Pearson of Dublin and Bellarmine's Colin Peattie and Nolan Topper. Also look for teammates Colin Ryan of Jesuit, Surya Marimuthu of Dublin, Clem Welsh of Bellarmine up front trying to help their teams come away with the team title and coveted Champion's Nike backpacks.
Boys teams to look out for: This will go down as one of the most competitive fields in the history of the De La Salle Invitational with mega powers in Northern California squaring off this weekend. CCS titan Bellarmine (#3 CIF preseason rankings) will face off against NCS juggernaut Dublin (#6 CIF preseason rankings) and SJS powerhouse Jesuit (#4 CIF preseason rankings). It is far too close to call which state top-ranked team might come away with the embroidered DLS Champion Nike backpacks, but it is certainly a race you do not want to miss!
The De La Salle Nike Invitational will have live results courtesy of Diablo Timing at this LINK. All the participating schools are on the next page.