Nice Tune Up at SCVAL Preview

The Monta Vista Cross-Country team showed nicely at the SCVAL Preview meet on October 6.  Held at the Crystal Springs International X-Country course, the SCVAL Preview meet gives the league schools a look at the course where we will hold our championship meet next month.

Earlier in the day we all watched rain hammering down in the South Bay, and waited for news that the meet would be cancelled, but up in Belmont the weather was not too bad.  The race is on!  We arrived in decent weather and it just kept getting hotter, just like MV.

Emilio started us off with an 16:39, which would prove to be MVXC’s fastest time of the day and was good enough for 3rd place in the frosh race (the course was shortened by 88 yards to avoid a muddy section, which made all the times on the day not count towards the record book).  Jenny followed this up with a 1st place in the frosh girls race, throwing down an 18:12 for the fastest time by any girl of the day.  Julia and Chloe also placed in the top 20 for the frosh girls.

Takuto lead the soph boys, running 16:53 while placing 2nd (Takuto showed true strength of character last Thursday, running with a really messed up stomach–we’re proud of him for getting out there and doing a great job and not letting a bad lunch get in the way of a good race!  He really stepped up for his team).  Following Takuto was a great pack of sophomores working together, as Ryan, Anand, Steven and Zach went 15-16-18-19.  Ismaeel and Archit were not far behind, as the sophomores displayed real skill in pack running.  Running in groups is a proven strategy for winning as a team, and the sophomores did not disappoint, as they won their division by 4 points over Cupertino.  As Coach Matt observed:  ‘Run together, work together, race together–win together!’  The sophomore boys are displaying great effort and spirit every day.

Bridget and Kirsten ran side-by-side once more, and finished 2-3 for the sophomore girls, and together with Alice, Kiersten and Emma the soph girls finished 2nd in their race.  Ajay and Collin, and Risako and Ellen, were the top finishers for the juniors.  Shivam and Michael finished high up for the seniors, while Pearl finished 6th in the senior girls race.

On a combined basis, the Monta Vista girls finished an impressive 1st on the day, 9 points clear of second place Paly, while the boys recorded a solid 6th place showing.

On Saturday, Kevin got on the same course at the Crystal Springs Invitational, and he also recorded a great race, 15:11 and winning the Championship Varsity race–great job, Kevin!

Team, keep up the great work!  Only a few more weeks until leagues and we are looking great.  Keep running hard, stay focused on all we have learned about training, and you will surprise yourself the next time we race on Crystal!

Photos are up in the gallery–check out the sky and clouds clearing overhead!

Complete official results are at http://www.dyestatcal.com/ATHLETICS/XC/2011/scval_cs.htm

Monta Vista Results