I am finding it very difficult to accept that our season is coming to it’s climax–we are all running so well, who wants to stop? Hardly anyone I think!
Monta Vista had a great show at the 2015 SCVAL Championships! The team highlights were having both boys’ and girls’ varsity teams qualify for the CCS championships for the fifth straight year! The varsity boys (Brent, Dan, Vamsee, Andy, Bennett, Jeffrey and Justin) had the best team-time at Crystal in the last five years, running a collective 82:19 or average of 16:32, good for fifth place in the league and more than two minutes under the at-large CCS time. Our varsity girls (Anna, Isabelle, Namrata, Kelly, Akshara, Claire and Sarah) took a solid second place, with an excellent average time of 19:21!
Individually, we had 11 athletes honored with all-league selections, and two sportsmanship awards.
ALL – LEAGUE HONORS FOR MONTA VISTA ATHLETES
Bob Rush Sportsmanship Awards: Andy Ma, Vishal Sodem
Varsity Boys: Brent Mogensen, Bennett Zhang
Varsity Girls: Anna Hsiao, Kelly Bishop, Sarah Feng, Claire Chang
Frosh-Soph Boys: Andy Fang, Ryan Nui
JV Girls: Mizuki Kadowaki, Anjali Thontakudi, Serena Geis
Monta Vista athletes also recorded an unprecedented 52 personal records, more than we have ever recorded in a single race before! While there are many PRs deserving of a mention, none more so than freshman Sarah Feng, who dropped 1:35 to go under 19 at Crystal and claim varsity all-league status! In the last decade, only Kelly Bishop and Jenny Xu have gone under 19 in their freshman year of cross-country at MV.
Both our boys and girls are ready for great performances at CCS! Monta Vista has recently developed a reputation as a team of tough competitors in big races, yet I think we are still underestimated this year–I think we will surprise a lot of people. Good luck to everyone as we head to Sections! If you look at the combined results — both leagues put together — you can see that our team depth really helps us as races are larger and more competitive. The boys measure out as the 3rd D1 team, while the girls measure out only 20 points out of first. Looking good!
Monta Vista runners are fighters…watching you all race, everyone can see that you will fight for every single spot. That is a championship approach, a sign of strong character, and a trait that everyone who fights for the last second and for every placement should be proud of! Never that that gritty, fighting instinct for granted. That character trait will help you for your entire life.
Complete Monta Vista results are available at Lynbrook, and analysis of our individuals and teams including PRs are at XCStats.
(Sorry about the paucity of photos…coaching and meet-direction left little time for photography. 🙁 )
Varsity boys off to the races.
Akshara at the top of the first loop and looking strong.
The boys creating a greeting line…and staying to the last finisher! Parents and coaches from all teams were taking notice…
Coach and Meet Director (we have to figure out a better way to support the sign!)