XC PREVIEW North Coast Section Boys

The North Coast Section is one of the largest and most competitive sections in the state. Over the past three school years, NCS athletes have dealt with the midway cancellation of the 2018 section XC final, an abbreviated cross country season last spring as well as no official section final in Track and Field in 2020. This coming school year offers hope to all those individuals and teams as a full schedule of races is on the horizon and the best harriers will be able to demonstrate their fitness on the Hayward HS course in November like the 2019 Maria Carrillo boys above.

Top Returners

Division I

Luke Fewx (James Logan), Daniel Trampe (Dublin), Matthew Alm (California)

Division II

Oscar Gomez (De La Salle), Lev Afonine (College Park), Farin Soriano (Granada)

Division III

Alexander Lodewick (Campolindo), Jacob Donohue (Maria Carrillo), Rhys Pullen (Campolindo), Dustin Smith (Windsor), Caden Carney (Tamalpais)

Division IV

Sean Morello (Albany), Sergio Ajquiy-Flores (Marin Catholic), Tyler Hunt (Acalanes), Loic Windfuhr Durand (Acalanes)

Division V

Jude DeVries (Victory Christian Academy), Alex Mader (Lick-Wilmerding), Jack Gaitley (University), Nick Miller (Urban)

2019 Team Champions

Division I: Dublin (4th at State)

Division II: De La Salle (9th at State)

Division III: Maria Carrillo (2nd at State)

Division IV: Sir Francis Drake (3rd at State)

Division V: University (4th at State)

Can't Miss Invitationals

OVERVIEW

As we look forward to this season, familiar teams will be competing once again for section supremacy. In Division I, the Dublin boys will be aiming for their 3rd consecutive section title and will be challenged by fellow league mate, Dougherty Valley. Dublin should be led by the senior duo of Daniel Trampe and Sharvin Manjrekar.

Over the past few seasons, the Granada boys have been the most consistent team in this division that included a section title in 2018. They should be formidable once again this fall and will be challenged by several fellow East Bay Athletic League (EBAL) teams like Amador Valley, De La Salle, and Monte Vista. College Park has been another team on the rise and should be in the mix for a state meet berth. The top individuals in this division all had very similar 3200m times on the track in the spring and they are Roland Ruckmann-Barnes (Granada), Alex Lamoureux (College Park), and Oscar Gomez (De La Salle).

NCS BOYS WINTER XC 5K LEADERS

In 2019, Division III proved to be the most competitive division at the state meet as Campolindo and Maria Carrillo took the top two spots at state. The previous week at the NCS MOC, Maria Carrillo edged in front of the Campolindo boys to win the most exciting race of the day. Campolindo junior Alexander Lodewick should be the best returning runner and be looking to lead the Cougars to another section title.

Over the past few seasons, the most dominant team in this division has been Sir Francis Drake. They have also been in the midst of a school name change and after being School 1327 last year, they will now compete as Archie Williams HS. The best individual in this division should be Albany junior Sean Morello (above).

The top teams for Division V should be quite familiar. They are typically from the Bay Counties League and if you look at the past winners over the last decade, the three teams that stand out above the rest are University, Lick-Wilmerding, and St. Joseph Notre Dame. From those teams, Lick-Wilmerding should be the most formidable led by state champion hopeful, Alex Mader.