Grant Morgenfeld (right) battled Ryan Mitchell to the very end at the De La Salle Invitational last Saturday. (Dan Tyree photo)
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It was a whirlwind 12 and a half hours for Palo Alto HS (CC) junior cross country runner Grant Morgenfeld.
On Friday night at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic in Irvine in Southern California, Morgenfeld was in the field for the Doug Speck Sweepstakes race of elite boys from multiple states around the country. That race was scheduled to go off at 9:54 p.m. but started closer to 10.
Saturday morning, in a race scheduled to go off at 10:05 at Newhall Park in Concord in Northern California -- some 400 miles away -- Morgenfeld was back on the line looking to lead his team at the De La Salle Invitational.
The 12-ish-hour odyssey garnered Morgenfeld a 15th place finish in 14:13.0 on a flat and fast 3-mile course at Great Park in Irvine. He was the No. 5 junior in that race, No. 4 among CA boys in the 2024 class.
Saturday, on another 3-mile course, this one with a hill, Morgenfeld had enough in the tank to out-sprint stellar Davis (SJ) senior Ryan Mitchell to the line to win in 15:07.3, the No. 9 time in course history. Mitchell's time of 15:07.7 is the No. 10 time in course history.
After the race on Saturday, Morgenfeld admitted to being "a little bit tired.
"I'm happy with the outcome."
He said the trip to Woodbridge "was more of a last-minute thing."
He said he was looking for strong competition in SoCal. "And then I wanted to come back and help my team here and see what I could do."
Palo Alto placed third behind Jesuit (SJ) and Campolindo (NC). All three teams were within 10 points of each other.
The final sprint came down to Morgenfeld against two seniors, Mitchell and Campolindo's Alexander Lodewick (whose time of 15:12.1 is No. 13 in course history).
"It was a great finish," Morgenfeld said. "I really had to stay mentally strong through the last quarter mile. It was really tough with guys coming up behind me and really pushing me. I'm happy with it."
On Woodbridge, he said "it was a lot of fun. It's different with no hills. It's a lot faster. And I was glad today, there was one big hill here, so I got to test that, too."
Photos by Stacy Soriano and Dan Tyree