Lagoon Valley Classic Recap

“Every run, every workout, every buildup is a deposit; eventually you get to take a withdrawal, and the race day magic delivers.”  ~Josh Cox

Over the past three weeks, Monta Vista Cross Country has been hard at work, building strength and growing together as a team. On Saturday, August 31st, we put our training to the test at the Lagoon Valley Classic Cross Country Invitational in Vacaville, where we faced off against 43 other teams on a challenging California course.

Freshmen and Sophomores Lead the Way

Our team is so big this year that we split the boys into two groups at Lagoon Valley for the first time! Twelve freshmen boys kicked off the day at 8:12 am, setting the tone with an impressive third-place finish out of 17 teams, trailing only the hosts Vacaville and NorCal powerhouse Davis. The MVXC freshmen team gap—from first to fifth finisher—was just 1:22, the smallest of any team in their race! If these boys continue to push and support each other, there’s no limit to what they can achieve.

The frosh-soph girls, all of whom were running their first high school cross-country race ever, earned a solid 13th place, while the sophomore boys secured 14th in their race. Special thanks to our captains—Anika, Hemani, and Ryan—who volunteered to warm up with our rookies and guide them through the course. A big congratulations to Melinda, Naomi, Riu, Tarun, Constantine, and Ashwanth, who earned medals in their first invitational race!

Varsity Teams Off to a Strong Start

The varsity girls kicked off their season with a strong fifth-place finish, just ten points shy of the podium, and ahead of section rival Willow Glen. Anika, Miranda, and Suhani all finished in the top 25, with Katie and Manasi close behind. The girls posted the sixth-best three-mile team time out of 30 schools in all divisions. The varsity boys secured a top-ten finish, with Tanay placing 6th and Ryan finishing in the top 30—both earning medals for their efforts.

JV Teams Close Out a Successful Day

In the JV races, Rishi and Aaron led the boys, and Hemani and Siran led the girls to 16th and 11th place finishes, respectively, capping off a satisfying and successful day for Monta Vista Cross Country.

Record-Breaking Performances

MVXC24 rewrote our record books for the Lagoon Valley course! Melinda and Naomi now hold top 10 times on Monta Vista’s all-time list for the two-mile course, alongside Riu, Tarun, and Constantine for the boys. The freshmen boys broke the all-time team record, surpassing the previous record held by the 2019 junior varsity boys. Anika and Miranda are now 3rd and 4th on the girls’ all-time list for the three-mile course, with only UCSD runner Sylvana Northrop and Nikhita Saldi ahead of them. Tanay holds the Monta Vista record for the Lagoon Valley three-mile course, and Ryan now ranks 6th.

Personal Records and Big Improvements

Ten Monta Vista athletes set personal records (PRs), with Abhi, Anika, and Ryan all improving their previous bests by more than a minute. Aletheia, Myra, Medha, Sridhar, Oliver, and Yibo all improved their pace by a minute per mile or more from the Watermelon run to Lagoon Valley—an incredible testament to their focus and effort.

PR Table Lagoon Valley 2024

Next Up: 3200 Madness!

Complete results for Lagoon Valley are available on XCStats. We’ll see you on Monday at 7 am for practice, and don’t miss our first-ever 3200 Madness event! Monta Vista will host Santa Clara and Lynbrook for an exciting early-season 3200m race on the track, Friday, September 6, with the first race at 4:50 pm. Let’s make it another great day!