Grant Morgenfeld of Palo Alto in the Central Coast Section was voted as the MileSplitCA Junior Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year in a statewide poll conducted though our partners at FanPower. Morgenfeld received 41 percent of the vote. Anthony Fasthorse of Ventura (SS) was second, receiving 23 percent of the vote.
Congratulations Grant!!
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The MileSplitCA All-State Cross Country teams are subjective selections based on results within the class at the State Meet, section championships, and marquee events like the Clovis Invitational. Each team is limited to seven on the line. We also conducted polls to select each team's runner of the year. Those winners are acknowledged above with a banner photo.
MILESPLITCA ALL-STATE JUNIOR BOYS XC
FIRST TEAM
(Listed alphabetically)
Placing third in Division III (15:18.3) at the State Meet, he also shined on the Mt. SAC Course with his 14:50 effort in capturing Friday's Individual Sweeps race. His top effort for the Woodward 5k course was 15:15.1 from the Clovis Invite, Bell's revealed another gear at the CHAMPS Sports Nationals with his 19th-place finish.
Lost in the shadows of his teammates at times, he placed seventh in the Division II (15:17.2) State Meet and was the fourth-fastest junior on the day. As their fourth scorer at the State Meet, he also ran 15:24.5 at the divisional finals. Overcoming illness, Doshi also played a role in leading Newbury Park to another national title.
Running the second-fastest time of any junior (15:08.5) at the State Meet, he placed fourth overall to help lead his squad to a third-place finish. Putting behind early-season injuries, he also placed fourth at the divisional finals (14:57.3). Fasthorse also qualified for the Team Nationals as an individual where he placed 60th overall.
He captured the Central Coast Section, Division 2 championship. Despite an off-race at the State Meet (15:36.0), he bounced back to qualify for the CHAMPS Sports national meet, where he placed 18th overall
(eighth underclassman). He also rolled to a 14:13.0 at the Woodbridge Classic and tuned around the following morning to win the De La Salle (15:07.3) Invite.
His 13:56.5 performance at the Woodbridge Classic shines as his top moment, he placed sixth at the Division I State Meet (15:13.7). that was the third-fastest time amongst all juniors. With a 14:54, runner-up finish at the Mt. SAC Individual Sweeps, he also claimed victories at the Cerritos and Rosemead Invites in early September.
Waiting until November to reveal his true talent, he emerged as the top junior in California with his victory in the Division IV race at the State Meet (15:05.4). This helped his squad earn the runner-up plaque as well. A week earlier, he rolled to the CIF-SS title (14:50.5). Invited to compete at the Team Nationals, he placed 44th overall as eighth overall for underclassmen.
He placed seventh in the Division I race at the State Meet, running 15:18.0. His best time on the Woodward Park 5K course was from the Central Section Finals (15:16.3) where he placed third. He also headlined with his 14:07.0 performance at the Woodbridge Classic, where he was the second-fastest junior overall.
SECOND TEAM
Omar Alsaidi (Oakdale/SJ) - A catalyst for the rise of Oakdale squad as it won SJS and State Division III championships. He placed fifth at State in a 5K PR of 15:19.8. He crossed ninth, running No. 1 as Oakdale placed second at the Garmin RunningLane Championships.
Josh Chu (Ponderosa/SJ) - The Sac-Joaquin Section Division 3 champion, Chu also came up big at the State Meet with his sixth-place finish (15:24.5).He just missed out on advancing to the Champs Sports Nationals with an 11th-place finish - sixth-best underclassman - at the Western Regional.
Olaf Dietz (Berkeley/NC) - The top junior in the North Coast Section, he placed 13th in the Division I race at the State Meet (15:28.1), the was the third-fastest underclassman in the race. His first year in the sport, he also led his squad to the NCS division title.
Max Fields (Palisades/LA) - (pictured above) With a 36-second victory, he earned his second LA City Section large school division title. He placed 15th in the D-I race at the State Meet, running a 5K PR of 15:29.8
.
Micah Grossman (Ventura/SS) - He placed 12th in the Division II race at State, running 15:26.1, the eighth-fastest of all juniors for the meet. A week earlier, he placed fifth at the divisional finals with a 14:58.6 effort on the Mt. SAC course.
Emmanuel Hernandez (Cathedral/SS) - He won his race at Clovis (15:13.7), and placed second at Mt. SAC (14:52). His 15:27.6 yielded him a fifth-place finish at the State Meet in Division IV as the 10th-fastest junior in the meet.
Omar Reyes (El Camino/SD) - Individual Sweeps win at the Mt. SAC Invite in 14:49, one of six race wins. In 12 meets, he was top-three 10 times. Reyes also rolled to a 14:11 at the Woodbridge Classic and was third-fastest overall at the San Diego Section finals.
THIRD TEAM
Photos by Meg Oliphant, DeAnna Turner, Raul Ebio, Daniel Hernandez, Raymond Tran, and Dan Tyree
Mark Gardner is a teacher, former coach, in-demand announcer, and a regular contributor to MileSplit
MileSplit California State Editor Jeffrey Parenti contributed to this article.
Grant Morgenfeld of Palo Alto in the Central Coast Section was voted as the MileSplitCA Junior Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year in a statewide poll conducted though our partners at FanPower. Morgenfeld received 41 percent of the vote. Anthony Fasthorse of Ventura (SS) was second, receiving 23 percent of the vote.
Congratulations Grant!!
