Cross Country Express

More end of the year Track and Field awards...

2013-06-19T12:36:00.002-07:00

Mercury News boys track and field athlete of the year: Andrew Hill's Miguel Vasquez closes strongly
Mercury News girls track and field athletes of the year: Piedmont Hills 4x400 relay team breaks new ground

Castro Valley High star named the Gatorade California Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year

Donation to Cross Country Express

2013-06-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

If you have enjoyed the Track and Field coverage on this website this past season, a kind donation would be appreciated. You can do so with the link to the right. If you don't do online payments, you can send a check to Albert Caruana c/o Crystal Springs Uplands School, 400 Uplands Drive, Hillsborough CA 94010.

This site will remain a free service throughout the year but as you know, a lot of time, effort and money go into the maintenance of a website.

Thank you to all of you that have contributed already. It's very much appreciated.

Arcadia fires nationally recognized cross country coach

2013-06-18T23:45:00.001-07:00

http://www.insidesocal.com/paspreps/

Postal National Championship Results

2013-06-18T12:05:00.002-07:00

Southlake Carroll HS, Southlake, Texas boys claim the 2013 NHSCA Postal National Championship (9:07.90 average for their top 5 3200m. runners!) De La Salle, Bellarmine and Campolindo ranked 35th, 36th and 37th respectively.

Park City HS, Park City, Utah girls claim the 2013 NHSCA Postal National Championship (10:53.13 average for their top 5 3200m. runners!) St. Francis, Sacramento and Campolindo ranked 21st and 25th respectively.

Here are the boys' all-time records with the 26 best teams:
http://www.xcnation.com/#!boys postal records/c1iy6

Here are the girls' all-time records with the top 19 best teams:
http://www.xcnation.com/#!girls postal records/c23p8

What is the average of your school's 5 x 3200m. team?

New Balance Nationals Outdoor Videos

2013-06-17T16:47:00.003-07:00

Video coverage of the meet here.

2013 NCS Division V Pre-Season Rankings (Boys)

2013-06-16T10:25:00.002-07:00

It's hard to believe that with all the success of the University HS girls with their 10 state championships, no boys team from NCS had ever won the state team title in this division until 2012. Since the inception of Division V in 1996, the following NCS boys teams have won 2nd or 3rd place plaques at state:
1997 University 3rd Place
1998 University 3rd Place
1999 University 3rd Place
2000 University 3rd Place
2001 University 2nd Place
2006 College Prep 2nd Place
2007 University 2nd Place
2008 University 3rd Place
2011 St. Joseph Notre Dame 3rd Place

The St. Joseph Notre Dame boys finally reached the top of this division last year with their narrow 1 point defeat of 2nd place Flintridge Prep. They return 4 out of their 7 runners and seem to have reloaded quite well for this season with some solid performances during this past track and field season. Senior Gabe Arias-Sheridan will once again lead the Pilots after his best track and field season to date. At the NCS MOC meet, Arias Sheridan finished in 4th place in the 3200m. with a lifetime best time of 9:22.77. Just as Stanford had Frick and Frack (The Hausers), St. Joes have the Murphy twins (Michael 10:12.54 and Matt 10:04.71). They will be juniors this coming season and although they haven't gotten the publicity like Arias, Luis Rodriguez and Nick Ratto, they have been just as important to the success of the team. Senior Chris Melendez has been in the top 7 mix over the past two seasons and will look to make more of an impact this coming season. As one rival coach said, "Like everyone else, I believe SJND is untouchable."

Whether that is the case or not, they will still run the races and there are teams in this section that will keep the Pilots honest. The top contender at this point appears to be the Marin Academy boys. They have two runners who are more than likely the best tandem for any CA team in this division. Junior Trevor Reinhart improved his 9th place finish from his freshman season to win the state title last year as a sophomore. Teammate and senior to be James Kinney also finished in the top 10 with a 6th place finish. As a team they finished in 7th place at the state meet and with 6 of their top 7 returning this year, MA will be in the hunt for their first league and section title. The key to their season will be sophomores Michael Dunne (4:48.01/10:22.22) and Henry Fleming who can close the gap with the top 5 teams in the state with improved efforts from them.

The next best team appears to be be the Lick Wilmerding boys. They won the BCL West meet last year (ending University's stranglehold of the league at 18 years), placed 4th at the NCS MOC meet and 11th at the CA state meet. Aside from the SJND boys, LW will have the best pack from 1-7. Their challenge will be to get a couple of their top runners to mix it up with the leaders up front in the bigger races. Their top runners will include Matt Jenkins (10:04.75), Steve Page ( 4:34.27/10:14.80) and Corey Robinson (1:58.44). They will also return 6 of their 7 state meet runners and their JV boys team steam rolled the rest of the BCL West competition. They are definitely a team to watch and could leap from Marin Academy for 2nd place.

The rest of the teams in the hunt for the final two state meet berths all have potential but will need to restock their artillery for this coming season. Athenian has the best two runners in this group and will challenge once again for BCL East supremacy. Tanner Shaw (4:29.78/10:03.70) and Gabe Elliott (4:37.52) have helped revive the Athenian program over the past two seasons with state meet qualifying efforts and a 6th place team finish last year at CA state meet. Danny Aldridge has brought Sonoma Academy to prominence in the same way he did with Maria Carrillo. Last year SA finished in 2nd place at NCS and just missed the state meet podium with a 4th place team finish. Patrick Loftus (4:40.81/10:33.x) will be their lead returning runner after a solid junior season. College Prep has been a consistent contender in this division and look to have an up and coming team following their performance on the track in the spring (Matthew Romer 4:41.26/10:25.50, Stephen Sloan 4:40.47 and Tristam Dodge 10:22.26). University will be led by Ben Tracy (10:21.66) and Jack Tannenbaum (2:01.89) and with the addition of a couple of formidable freshmen could be contenders once again. Stuart Hall showed signs of being competitive during cross country following their track and field season with Thomas Namara (4:47.07/10:31.02) and Dunham McBride (4:55.64).

The race for the individual title has a lot of subplots. The favorite based on his 2012 XC season is Trevor Reinhart. He won the Stanford Invitational, BCL West, NCS and state meet races. Not bad for a sophomore who dabbled in running the summer and fall. His main competition should come from 2011 NCS MOC champion and Hayward HS Division V course record holder, Gabe Arias-Sheridan. You will notice he is not listed below among the top five returners due to multiple falls during last year's section mudfest but Gabe is a really tough competitor and his 9:22.77 performance on the track demands attention. Another contender is Reinhart's teammate, James Kinney, who had an outstanding junior XC season and who's track season ended prematurely due to a stress fracture. The front pack could also include Michael and Matthew Murphy of SJND and Tanner Shaw of Athenian.

Division V Boys (Top 5 Advance to State)
1) St. Joseph ND-Overwhelming favorites at this point.
2) Marin Academy-Best duo in this division with Reinhart and Kinney.
3) Lick Wilmerding-Could easily be ranked #2.
4) College Prep-Young group that could impress in the fall.
5) Athenian-Tanner Shaw leads the way for the Owls.
6) Sonoma Academy-Coming off best season in school history.
7) University-Always a dangerous threat and can't be counted out.
On the bubble: Berean Christian, Stuart Hall, Urban

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2012 NCS meet time:
Trevor Reinhart (1) Marin Academy 15:51
James Kinney (3) Marin Academy 15:57
Michael Murphy (5) St. Joseph ND 16:08
Matthew Murphy (6) St. Joseph ND 16:08
Tanner Shaw (8) Athenian 16:24

Comments? Who did I miss? What can you add to my rankings? Also feel free to link this article to your team website/facebook etc.

Lowell 800-meter runner Maxwell Niehaus races to the max

2013-06-15T17:02:00.002-07:00

http://www.maxpreps.com/news/FtbGbrn_ikice_TbVGzaQw/lowell-800-meter-runner-maxwell-niehaus-races-to-the-max.htm

Drake track coach Taylor making his 18th Arete West trip with a small group of students

2013-06-15T14:16:00.003-07:00

http://www.marinij.com/prepsports/ci_23455339/drake-track-coach-taylor-making-his-18th-arete

California State Track and Field Championships 2014 "At-Large" Standards

2013-06-15T06:52:00.005-07:00

Boys Girls
100 10.69 11.92
200 21.75 24.50
400 48.29 55.94
800 1:52.98 2:11.80
1600 4:14.24 4:55.15
3200 9:08.64 10:35.79
110/100 Hurdles 14.42 14.23
300 Hurdles 38.19 43.54
4x100 Relay 41.92 47.53
4x400 Relay 3:18.31 3:51.27
High Jump 6-07.00 5-05.00
Pole Vault 15-02.00 11-07.00
Long Jump 22-10.00 18-04.00
Triple Jump 46-10-00 38-04.00
Shot Put 57-09.00 41-02.00
Discus 171-05.00 134-03.00

North Coast Section (NCS) Division III Individuals by Andy Lindquist

2013-06-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

Overview: One of the most competitive divisions in the whole NCS, division III looks to be another hotly contested affair with the top two finishers at last years NCS championships returning and coming off stellar track seasons. Look for Aidan Goltra and Fred Huxham to resume their rivalry and battle it out for the individual title, while a host of talented upstarts look to land a spot in the top 7.

1.Aidan Goltra (Campolindo) – Defending state champion in division III, “The King of the North” produced a quality track season, finishing 10^th in the state in the 3200 with a time of 9:10. Looks to be the clear favorite at this point and will challenge for top overall NCS honors at both the section finals and state championships. Is the 2^nd fastest returner in the entire state at Woodward Park.

2. Fred Huxham (Redwood) – Huxh am continued his breakout year with a 4:14 1600 this spring and looks the best suited to closing the gap on Goltra. Finished 3^rd at state last year in 15:30 and is the 2^nd best returner in all of division III.

3. Michael Wang (Acalanes) – Had a massively successful track season, dropping a 4:14 1600 and while he appears to be more of a track specialist, look for Wang to make another great leap forward this cross country season.

4. Andrew Melendez (Bishop O'Dowd) – A consistent performer around the oval, Melandez courts the 3^rd best 3200m time of all returners in this division with the 9:32 he ran at the NCS finals. Owns a sub 15:30 pr on the ncs championship course so look for more consistent improvement this year.

5. Cameron Gaskell (Acalanes) – Had a surprisingly successful frosh campaign in track, dropping down to a 9:28 3200, the 4^th best freshman time in the entire state. Look for another step forward as the Dons look to have the best 1-2 punch in the section. Stiff competition in the DFAL will give him plenty of opportunities to compete with the sections best.

6. Andy Ehrenberg (Redwood) – An individual state qualifier last year as a freshman, running 16:45 at Woodward Park. Continued that upward momentum during track, clocking a 9:49 in the 3200. With a consistent summer he will challenge Gaskell for top underclassmen honors.

7. Colin Burke (Bishop O'Dowd) A solid varsity runner last year for the dragons, running 16:55 at Woodward Park, Burke carved out a successful track season running 9:46 in the 3200. With a talented group of teammates to push him, that improvement curve could continue to go up this cross country season.

On the bubble: Nick Downs (Bishop O'Dowd ) Ben Weinberg (Campolindo) Will Moran (Campolindo)

Overview: Look for the NCS title to go through the DFAL once again as Brighie Leach looks to continue her recent hot streak and improve upon her runner up finish last year while the rest of the DFAL looks to close the gap. Of course, freshmen will have an impact once the season starts but for now here are how the things look.

1. Brighie Leach (Campolindo) – The top returner from last season, Leach continued to make massive improvements this spring has she captured the NCS MOC 3200m title in 10:41. Also owns the top Woodward park time in this division at 18:42. Look for more of the same this coming season.

2. Chloe Hansel (Las Lomas) – Finished 4^th at the NCS finals and 16^th at the state finals last year. Got down to a 5:05 clocking this past track season in the 1600 so look for Hansel to improve upon last years' performances.

3. Allie Timbrell (Alhambra) – A breakout performer this track season, ending up with a fine 5:06 1600m time. It still remains to be seen if this can translate over to the longer distance in XC, but competing in the rugged DFAL should provide plenty of opportunity for Timbrell to measure up against quality opponents.

4. Emily Fiberling (Bishop O'Dowd) – Qualified individually for state last cross country season and recently clocked a personal best 5:08 1600m at the Golden West Invitational. Again, track times, especially in the 1600 are not always indicative of XC success, however they are the best starting point to go with in regards to looking at next cross county season.

5. Rachel Johnson (Campolindo) – Another consistent performer for the Campolindo team, Johnson clocked an 11:21 in the 3200 this past off-season. With a personal record of 18:30 on the rugged Hidden Valley Park course (which favorably compares to Woodward park) look for Johnson to close the gap on the rest of the DFAL frontrunners.

6. Mary Orders (Campolindo) – Rebounded from an injury plagued fall to run 11:16 in the 3200 during track. Consistent training with a group of talented athletes on the Campolindo squad coupled with competing in the DFAL should provide the boost necessary to land a medal position.

7. Hana Sun (Campolindo) – Yet another quality returner for the cougars, who posted 11:16 and 5:15 clockings in the 3200m and 1600m respectively. Again, quality competition and a raft of talented teammates should make for another step forward.

On the bubble: Caith Wright (Acalanes) Isabel Moon (Novato) Bella Amyx (Tamalpais)

Marin races

2013-06-14T12:14:00.002-07:00

Both events will donate a percentage of their funds toward Jim Tracy via the Running For Jim documentary. When you register for either of the races, a portion of your registration will go to offset some of his medical bills. A great cause!

Hi all,

As many of you know, I have been working at bringing a major road half marathon to Marin County, one that showcases the beauty of the bay, bridges, mountains, and all that Marin has to offer. It has been a long journey but I am extremely pleased to announce the official live launch of the Inaugural Tiburon By the Bay Half Marathon & 5K!

The website is www.tiburonhalfmarathon.com

ALS-TDI is our primary charity partner.

We have early bird special pricing till the end of June.

You will likely receive one of those more fancy emails this week but wanted to send a more personal one to many of you first.

I have really appreciated everyone's support of the various events over the years. This one has been a vision for a long time, and finally a reality.

The course is a lollipop loop, starting in downtown Tiburon, traversing through Mill Valley, back along the Strawberry Peninsula, and finishing again in Tiburon.

Majestic views, fast course, runner focused with amazing SWAG and sponsors and much more. Non-Marin folks can take a ferry in from the city to the race!

I hope many of you sign up ... a terrific Fall Half Marathon ... perhaps leading into CIM ... a 5K as well. Spread the word too!

Thanks,

--Jason Jacobson

www.tiburonhalfmarathon.com

www.marinruns.com

www.run415mile.com

Also

On July 21st we have the Inaugural 415-Mile & Miracle Mile. What is this event all about anyways?

--The 415-Mile is a 5 mile race that is all about the 415! It is part of a series of area codes races, like the 408-K and the 510-K ... but Marin's version to represent the 415 portion! We are fully closing down 4th Street for the start/finish with the course doing a loop through Sun Valley.

--Then, there is the standard 1 mile races / heats on a fully closed down downtown SR!

--Oh yeah, then the Dean Karnazes kids races.
--Think Twilight Criterium, only in the morning and running. A running festival!

--So run the 5 mile and cheer on the 1 milers, challenge yourself and see how fast you can run the 1 mile, bring the entire family out! It is part of the PA so wear your team uniforms if part of the team.

--There will be an expo, hey check out the 415-Mile Facebook site for a video of what they do in the 408 to get a flavor.

--Need more, incentive, ok, code 415TAM gives you $5 off, there is family pricing, and if you sign up and refer others, you get $4.15 back for EACH referral. The code expires soon so register before prices go up.

--Need more, the race supports Girls on the Run.

--NEED VOLUNTEERS TOO!

Hope to see everyone out there!

Thanks,

--J

Peninsula Athletic League (CCS) Athletes of the Year

2013-06-14T12:14:00.001-07:00

Boys: J.D. Elzie ruled PAL, could have done more
Girls: Sabrina Mendoza caps off stellar career at Mills

2013 CIF State Track Meet Intro

2013-06-14T11:58:00.001-07:00

2013 CIF State Track Meet Intro from James Soares on Vimeo.

2013 NCS Division V Pre-Season Rankings (Girls)

2013-06-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

The North Coast Section girls continued their domination of this division at the state meet level with 5 teams in the top 10 last year. They also placed 5 individual girls in the top 10 including the top two finishers (Julia Maxwell and Anna Harleen, both of Branson School). The University girls won their 4th straight state team title (10th overall) and the Lick Wilmerding girls won their first plaque in school history by placing 3rd, just ahead of the Branson girls. With 6 teams qualifying from the NCS meet, it won't be long before this section gets rewarded with another automatic state meet berth.

The favorite for the team title this year will be Branson. They return the two best runners in this division and the team will include 6 seniors who finished in 3rd place at the NCS meet and 4th at the state meet. Maxwell dealt with an injury during the tail end of the track and field season which kept her from competing in the post season meets. Despite that, she is the most talented runner in this division and should return to her elite status be the beginning of the cross country season. Anna Harleen finished in 2nd place to her more heralded teammate in many invitationals and meets. With an influx of one or two talented freshmen, Branson could be quite formidable this coming season as they chase their first cross country section title in school history.

The team that will give Branson all that they could handle is Lick Wilmerding. 2012 was the coming out party for the LW girls as they pushed University to the brink with a narrow 42-43 defeat at the BCL West Championship race. They then finished 2nd to University at the NCS meet by a score of 66-76. Their 3rd place finish at the state meet was also by a slim margin as only 16 points separated the top 3 teams (Thacher finished in 2nd place). Molly Dicke continued her fine running this past track season with a 7th place finish at the NCS MOC meet in the 3200m. (11:15.99). Teammate Andie Von Eschen (11:56.19) gives LW their own dynamic duo who also return 6 of their 7 from last season.

Another contender for a top 3 finish is Convent and they could leapfrog the top two contenders if all things are clicking along for them next year. They return their top 2 runners from last cross country season, Camilla Bykhovsky (5:30.17) and Sarah Selzer (12:52.34). Freshman Mae Singer (2:37.22/5:33.08) and junior Julia Nemy (2:32.35/5:42.82) performed well on the track and give Convent a nice pack of four along with their top 2 runners. A couple more solid runners and they could challenge the top two teams.

At this point, most divisions drop significantly after the top 3 teams but in this division, we are just getting warmed up. You can never count out the University girls despite what may seem like significant losses to their team over the past two seasons (Holland Reynolds, Bridget Blum and Jennie Callan). They return Grace Euphrat-Weston (12:47.56), Izzy Simon (2:32.07) and the Locksley twins (Sydney and Morgan). University has usually added an impact freshman or two each season so that is always in the mix. Coach Jim Tracy has also developed new runners or found other gems in other sports. He must be doing something awfully right to win TEN! state championships.

The rest of the challengers for the state meet spots will include Marin Academy (led by Bevin McCullough), Urban (led by Molly Carleton) and Athenian (led by Delaney Inamine). College Prep, a consistent contender here may be in rebuilding mode this season but don't count out traditional success. Sonoma Academy and St. Joseph Notre Dame have been very successful on the boys side so a couple of additions on the girls side could make them contenders as well.

The race for the individual title starts and ends with Julia Maxwell. Despite the injury during track season, Julia is still the top runner in NCS, regardless of division. At last year's NCS MOC mudfest, Maxwell recorded the fastest time of any girl by 24 seconds over Jena Pianin who went on to finish 3rd place in the Division I state meet race. Maxwell also won her 2nd straight state title by 61 seconds. With the first place spot out of contention, the battle will be for 2nd place between Harleen of Branson and Dicke of Lick Wilmerding. Erin Thomas of Mendocino won the Stanford Invitational and finished a competitive 4th at last year's NCS meet.

Division V Girls (Top 6 Advance to state)
1) Branson-Is this the year, Branson wins their 1st section crown?
2) Lick Wilmerding-No surprise if they win this division.
3) Convent-Impressive track season puts them here.
4) University-4 NCS and state titles in a row. Tough to bet against them.

5) Marin Academy-Another consistent threat in this division.
6) Urban-A healthy Molly Carleton puts the Blue in state meet contention.
On the bubble: Athenian, College Prep, Head Royce, Sonoma Academy,

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2012 NCS meet time:

Julia Maxwell (1) Branson 17:22
Anna Harleen (2) Branson 18:49
Molly Dicke (3) Lick Wilmerding 19:00
Erin Thomas (4) Mendocino 19:08

Camilla Bykhovsky (7) Convent 19:36

Please feel free to chime in on the rankings above. I won't be offended if you strongly disagree as the above rankings are meant to be a launching pad for conversation. Fortunately section titles and state meet berths are decided by the runners themselves. Did I miss any teams or individuals? Any other impact freshmen that we should know about?

Boys coming up later this weekend...

Moraga July 4th Fun Run

2013-06-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

All info can be found at the following link:
http://www.campotrack.com/july4PAGES/july4sectionfrontpage.html

adidas/Heart and Sole Redwood Empire Athletes of the Year!

2013-06-13T06:00:00.003-07:00

http://www.heartnsolesantarosa.com/aotw.html

First up for pre-season rankings...NCS Division V

2013-06-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

They will be posted by Friday evening. I think I have a pretty good grasp of the division after getting lots of feedback from many of the competing coaches. The unsure parts are the incoming freshmen and the motivated summer runners. We will just have to see about those two aspects once the season begins so until then, ready or not, the first of the pre-rankings are almost here.

High-profile track meets continue to leave Sacramento By Bill Paterson

2013-06-09T11:13:00.001-07:00

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/09/5482782/high-profile-track-meets-continue.html

Golden West Invitational Live Results...

2013-06-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.goldenwestinvitational.org/data/2013GWIResults/index.html

Comparisons of Times 2013

2013-06-08T20:08:00.002-07:00

http://www.prepcaltrack.com/ATHLETICS/XC/2013/comparsn.htm
The great stats that Walt VanZant puts out every season will be posted at the above link. Stay tuned. Until then, let's hear it CCS fans. Who are the top individuals, teams. Who are the surprise teams. Individuals. Top Freshmen.

Healdsburg runner Maria Barragan signs with Sacramento State

2013-06-08T08:32:00.004-07:00

Kissin dad and son trying to bring home the family trophy in running first Dipsea together

2013-06-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.marinij.com/dipsea/ci_23387953/kissin-dad-and-son-trying-bring-home-family

Tim Layten of Carlmont HS signs with University of Kentucky

2013-06-06T03:55:00.000-07:00

Tim (center) is flanked by teammates Mark Vingralek, James Shulte and Owen Lee.

2013 State Meet Team Qualifier changes from 2012

2013-06-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

The following was computed by former Gunn HS coach Ernie Lee. The official numbers have not been released yet so until then, here you go.

DI boys - CCS up to 3, SDS down to 2
DI girls - no change
DII boys - SDS up to 4, CS down to 2
DII girls - NCS down to 2, no one qualifies for the vacant spot. I don't know how this will be resolved
DIII boys - no change
DIII girls - SDS up to 4, CCS down to 2
DIV boys - SDS up to 3, NS up to 3, CCS down to 2, CS down to 2
DIV girls - no change
DV boys - SDS up to 3, NS down to 1
DV girls - no change

Here are the numbers from last season:
http://cifstate.org/images/Cross_Country/2012_XC_Team_Entries.pdf

Coming up next...

2013-06-04T10:15:00.002-07:00

Pre-season cross country rankings starting with the North Coast Section. Until they are posted, feel free to comment on the upcoming season. Who are the favorites in the different divisions? Who will be the top runners (boys and girls) in the fall? Who are the top 10 runners (boys and girls) in NCS? Top 10 teams overall? Who are the team favorites in each division? Who will contend for the coveted state meet spots? Just as an FYI, the amount of teams that do qualify to the state meet will remain the same except for the Division II girls who I believe will only have 2 teams qualify to the state meet.

Here are the NCS Divisions for 2013. The teams that are in a different division than last season are in bold.

Let's hear your thoughts.