Last season, the North Coast Section championship meet was stopped midway due to bad air quality. It what may have been a first for the section, a committee selected the state meet qualifiers (individuals and teams) for the rest of the divisions.
This season, despite a mid-season fire, the NCS MOC meet was held as scheduled and individuals and teams earned their plaques and medals as well as qualifying berths by using their fleet feet.
The conditions for the NCS MOC meet were perfect with many standout efforts.
The De La Salle boys had the fastest team time of the day as their boys rolled 76:49 team time as well as garnering their 18th section title which is an NCS XC record.
The Maria Carrillo boys surged past a fast-starting Campolindo team to win the Division III section title.
The Sir Francis Drake boys won their 3rd straight Division IV section title.
The SF University boys won their 16th section title which trails only DLS's 18th as mentioned above.
The Amador Valley girls won their 2nd straight Division I title finishing ahead of Dougherty Valley and Dublin.
The Granada girls won their 5th straight Division II title.
The Campolindo girls dominated early with the top five runners and settled for a low score of 26.
The Piedmont girls won the Division IV section title which gives them four of the last six.
The Lick-Wilmerding girls made it three in a row before heading to the state meet to defend their state championship.
Division II Individual Champions: Patrick Curulla De La Salle, Shae Hill Granada
Division III Individual Champions: Dylan Gunn Campolindo, Paloma Hancock Campolindo
Division IV Individual Champions: Amir Barkan Sir Francis Drake, Audrey Allen Miramonte
Division V Individual Champions: Jacob Lehmann-Duke College Prep, Harper McClain St. Helena
BOYS RUNNER OF THE YEAR
The NCS runner of the year is Dublin senior Christopher Middleton-Pearson. He was one of two boys to dip under the 15 minute mark at the section meet with his time of 14:36.6 at the top of the list. At the state meet, Middleton-Pearson finished in 3rd place in the Division I race and qualified for the NXN meet as an individual.
GIRLS RUNNER OF THE YEAR
The NCS girls runner of the year is St. Helena junior Harper McClain. In her first high school cross country season, McClain was equally as dominant as she was on the track in the spring. At the NCS MOC meet, McClain had the fastest time of the day as she ran a solo 17:03.7. She also won her first state title and just like Middleton-Pearson above, McClain also qualified for the NXN as one of the five fastest individuals in California.
TEAM OF THE YEAR
While there were several teams repeating as section champions, the team that stood above the rest was Campolindo. At the NCS MOC meet, the girls won their 7th straight section title as they totally dominated the field. They also proved to be the best Division III team by winning another state title. The boys were not to be outdone by the girls and despite losing to a super tough Maria Carillo team at the NCS MOC meet, the Cougars flipped the script at state by winning their first state title.