Just like every other section in California, the upcoming XC season for Central Coast Section athletes and teams will certainly be quite unique. The 2020 XC season took place in the spring right before Track and Field without a section final. Highly unusual indeed! We will now hopefully get to see a full allotment for races as well as an opportunity for section athletes to prove themselves against the best in the state in November. Below you can check out the top returning athletes as well as some of the top teams.
Top Returners
Division I
Ryunosuke Yanashita (Bellarmine), Tanish Chettiar (Bellarmine), Ben Pinkel (Bellarmine), John Bard (Palo Alto), Nicholas Trepanier (Mt. View), Grant Morgenfeld (Palo Alto), Emmanuel Leblond (Mt. View), Vibhu Krishnan (Bellarmine)
Division II
Sami Shafi (Leland), Casey Nuti (Willow Glen), Nicholas Guzman (Gilroy), Jeff Hedlund (Pioneer)
Division III
Harrison Dance (Saratoga), Elliot Daniels (Prospect), Yutaka Roberts (El Camino)
Division IV
Jeremy Kain (Scotts Valley), Justin Pretre (Menlo), Cash Ebright (San Lorenzo Valley), Austin George (Scotts Valley), Moises Benito (Palma), Ryder Brabo (Scotts Valley)
Division V
Michael Julian (York), Julian Vargas (St. Francis CCC) Furious Clay (Crystal Springs Uplands School), John Puka (Stevenson), Josh Byun (Nueva), Alex Cocquyt (Nueva), Emerson Lange (Nueva)
2019 Team Champions
Division I: Bellarmine (3rd at State)
Division II: Willow Glen (11th at State)
Division III: St. Ignatius (21st at State)
Division IV: King City (5th at State)
Division V: Crystal Springs Uplands School (7th at State)
Can't Miss Invitationals
Lowell Invitational at Golden Gate Park, September 11th
Serra Invitational at Crystal Springs Course, October 2nd
OVERVIEW
In 2020, Bellarmine fielded possibly their most potent XC lineup which is really saying something considering their school's success in the sport. With the majority of that group graduated, you would think there would be a big drop-off. That is hardly the case and Bellarmine will be after their 8th straight section title as well as another potential podium finish at state.
In 2019, the Scotts Valley boys were upset at the section Division IV final but rebounded nicely to finish a strong second at the state meet behind Foothill Tech. Based on the just-completed Track and Field season, Scotts Valley should be quite strong again this fall led by one of the top runners in the state, senior Jeremy Kain.
The Crystal Springs Uplands School boys have won the last six section titles in Division V. This fall, the Nueva boys will be favored to end that string of victories and win their first section title based on their success on the track this past spring. The Mavericks have an impressive senior class who will chase the 2019 section champion, York senior, Michael Julian.
Aside from the talented freshmen that will have an impact in the section, another notable runner will be El Camino senior Yutaka Roberts (above). He did race a few times as a freshman but will be making his return to XC this fall. Last spring, Roberts won an impressive double on the track as she stormed his way to victories in the 400 and 800.
