Newspaper Coverage for Northern California State Meet Participants...

Johnston wins CIF cross country title (The Californian) NEW

Mountain View runners among best in Fresno (San Jose Mercury News)

George paces Livermore's best cross country day (Inside Bay Area)

Cross-country: Bay Area runners satisfied with seconds (SF Chronicle)

Prep cross country: Iglehart second, MA girls third as Marin runners come up big at state championships (Marin IJ)

Area runners fare well at State (Modesto Bee)

Ruegg runs Valley record in state meet (Napa Valley Register)

MacDonald, Redwood Christian are in seventh heaven at state meet (Inside Bay Area)

Santa Cruz's Lynch second at state cross country meet (San Jose Mercury News)

Casa's Taylor finishes third in Fresno (Press Democrat)
Casa Grande's Jacque Taylor finishes third in state cross country (same story, different picture)

For Maxwell, this meet tastes better (Inside Bay Area)

Liberty's Wyatt Landrum finishes 4th at CIF cross-country meet (Berryessa Sun)

Alvarez finishes 27th overall at state championships (Manteca Bulletin)
If you have any other links to stories that cover Northern California teams, please send them to albertjcaruana@gmail.com

Top 20 NorCal Teams based on Team Time...

GIRLS
1  Livermore(NCS)         (18:57.07  94:45.35)
2  Mountain View(CCS)     (19:01.96  95:09.82)
3  Oak Ridge (SJS)        (19:05.76  95:28.80)
4  Carlmont (CCS)         (19:09.45  95:47.29)
5  Maria Carrillo (NCS)   (19:13.06  96:05.34)
6  Carondelet (NCS)       (19:19.47  96:37.38)
7  Davis Sr. (SJS)        (19:27.34  97:16.74)
8  College Park (NCS)     (19:29.40  97:27.02)
9  Folsom (SJS)           (19:30.58  97:32.94)
10 Gunn (CCS)             (19:32.26  97:41.33)
11 Campolindo (NCS)       (19:32.99  97:44.95)
12 Woodcreek (SJS         (19:33.44  97:47.24)
13  Aptos (CCS)           (19:35.35  97:56.79)
14  Gilroy (CCS)          (19:36.34  98:01.74)
15  St. Ignatius (CCS)    (19:36.90  98:04.54)
16  Castro Valley (NCS)   (19:40.42  98:22.12)
17  Casa Grande (NCS)     (19:40.49  98:22.45)
18  St. Mary's (NCS)      (19:41.66  98:28.30)
19  Ponderosa (SJS)       (19:44.08  98:40.40)
20  Galt (SJS)            (19:49.21  99:06.07)

BOYS
1  Mountain View (CCS)    (15:55.02  79:35.13)
2  Campolindo (NCS)       (15:56.67  79:43.39)
3  Petaluma (NCS)         (15:58.21  79:51.06)
4  Willow Glen (CCS)      (16:12.80  81:04.03)
5  Davis Sr. (SJS)        (16:13.23  81:06.19)
6  Palo Alto (CCS)        (16:14.91  81:14.56)
7  Amador Valley (NCS)    (16:15.59  81:17.97)
8  De La Salle 9NCS)      (16:21.88  81:49.40)
9  Aptos (CCS)            (16:21.92  81:49.61)
10 Jesuit (SJS)           (16:23.14  81:55.72)
11 College Park (NCS)     (16:26.59  82:12.96)
12 Bellarmine (CCS)       (16:26.90  82:14.53)
13 Del Campo (SJS)        (16:27.27  82:16.37)
14 Carlmont (CCS)         (16:32.81  82:44.06)
15 St. Ignatius (CCS)     (16:33.36  82:46.84)
16 Gunn (CCS)             (16:33.63  82:48.19)
17 Fairfield (SJS)        (16:35.10  82:55.51)
18 Acalanes (NCS)         (16:38.54  83:12.72)
19 SF Univ Hs (NCS)       (16:39.59  83:17.95)
20 Santa Rosa (NCS)       (16:39.68  83:18.42)
*Podium teams in Red

All NorCal Girls under 19 minutes...

Runners in red finished in the top 10 in their division.

6  585 NCS Jacque Taylor        JR Casa Grande              17:40  5:42
10  240 CCS Jennifer Bergman    SR Valley Christian         17:46  5:43
13   39 CCS Justine Fedronic    SR Carlmont                 17:50  5:45 
17 1309 SJS Maria Malone        SR Folsom                   17:55  5:46 
20  681 NCS Diana George        SR Livermore                18:01  5:48
21   38 CCS Jessie Petersen     SO Carlmont                 18:01  5:48
34  576 NCS Heather Cerney      JR Carondelet               18:12  5:52
38  719 NCS Isabel Andrade      JR Petaluma                 18:15  5:53
40  560 NCS Colleen Lillig      JR California               18:16  5:53
45 1198 SJS Sarah Tusting       SR Benicia                  18:19  5:54
47  562 NCS Carrie Verdon       FR Campolindo               18:19  5:54
57  154 CCS Mary Reynolds       SR Mountain View            18:26  5:56
58  602 NCS Alycia Cridebring   JR College Park             18:26  5:56
60  862 NS  Tiffany Heflin      SO Lassen                   18:27  5:57
62 1328 SJS Brooke Holt         SO Granite Bay              18:27  5:57
65  699 NCS Theresa Devine      JR Marin Catholic           18:28  5:57
66  542 NCS Rachel Mitchell     SR American                 18:28  5:57
67  557 NCS Damajeria Dubose    SR Bishop O'dowd            18:28  5:57
72  222 CCS Rachel Hinds        SO St. Ignatius             18:31  5:58
74 1386 SJS Nicole Mendoza      SR St. Francis (sac)        18:33  5:58
76 1320 SJS Lauren Petersen     SR Galt                     18:35  5:59
78   12 CCS Marissa Ferrante    JR Aptos                    18:35  5:59
80  907 NS  Michelle Johnson    SR West Valley              18:36  6:00
82  225 CCS Katy Daly           SR St. Ignatius             18:37  6:00
88  581 NCS Kellie Houser       SR Carondelet               18:38  6:00
91   92 CCS Kathleen Miller     SR Gilroy                   18:40  6:01
92  130 CCS Stephanie Barnett   SR Leland                   18:40  6:01
94 1348 SJS Hayley Scott        JR Oak Ridge                18:40  6:01
100  156 CCS Alex Westbrook     SR Mountain View            18:44  6:02
102  684 NCS Lauren Curtin      JR Maria Carrillo           18:47  6:03
106  677 NCS Natalie Dimits     FR Livermore                18:48  6:03
111 1396 SJS Stephanie Romo     SO Woodcreek                18:51  6:04
113  682 NCS Abigail Gregg      SR Livermore                18:51  6:04
116  136 CCS Rachel Stump       SR Los Gatos                18:52  6:05
121 1393 SJS Courtney Crosta    JR Woodcreek                18:55  6:06
125  718 NCS Francesca Honey    FR Petaluma                 18:56  6:06
126  706 NCS Julie Nacouzi      SO Montgomery               18:56  6:06
127  906 NS  Corissa Storms     SO West Valley              18:56  6:06
135  203 CCS Coutrney Allen     SR San Benito               18:59  6:07

Also finished top 10 in state:
147  695 NCS Lucy McCullough    SO Marin Academy            19:02  6:08 
274  833 NS  Morgan Schell      SO Durham                   19:34  6:18 
307  744 NCS Holland Reynolds   FR San Francisco Univ Hs    19:42  6:21

All NorCal Boys under 16 minutes...

Runners in red finished in the top 10 in their division.

2  159 CCS Garrett Rowe         JR Mountain View          15:03  4:51 
7  668 NCS Wyatt Landrum        SR Liberty                15:12  4:54 
12  180 CCS Phil MacQuitty      JR Palo Alto              15:14  4:54 
15  600 NCS Nathanael Litwiller SR Clayton Valley         15:15  4:55
19 1256 SJS Matt Petersen       SR Davis Sr.              15:17  4:56 
20  717 NCS Erik Olson          JR Novato                 15:17  4:56 
32 1264 SJS Dan Mitchell        SR Del Campo              15:27  4:59
37  770 NCS Rory McLeod         SR Santa Rosa             15:30  5:00
40  724 NCS Sterling Lockert    SR Petaluma               15:31  5:00 
43  177 CCS Tyre Johnson        SR Palma                  15:32  5:00 
49 1340 SJS Chris Haworth       SR Kennedy (sac)          15:34  5:01
52 1405 SJS Garrett Seawell     SR Woodcreek              15:35  5:01
55  246 CCS Nohe Lema           SR Willow Glen            15:36  5:02
57  212 CCS Brennan Lynch       SR Santa Cruz             15:36  5:02 
58  250 CCS Daniel Filipcik     SR Woodside               15:37  5:02
60  790 NCS Dan Milechman       SO Tamalpais              15:37  5:02 
61 1323 SJS Roberto Rosas       JR Grace Davis            15:37  5:02
63   19 CCS Mitch Moriarty      JR Aptos                  15:38  5:02
64  161 CCS Parker Schuh        SO Mountain View          15:38  5:02
68 1345 SJS Kurt Ruegg          JR Napa                   15:40  5:03
70   23 CCS Rylan Hunt          SR Aptos                  15:41  5:03
71  574 NCS Robert Pulford      SR Campolindo             15:41  5:03
72  543 NCS Danny Thomas        JR Arroyo                 15:42  5:03
79  230 CCS Peter Birsinger     SR St. Ignatius           15:45  5:04
80  782 NCS Dan Maxwell         JR St. Mary's College Hs  15:45  5:04
81 1353 SJS Amjed Aboukhadijeh  JR Oak Ridge              15:46  5:05
82  572 NCS Ross Geiger         SR Campolindo             15:46  5:05
85 1298 SJS Jared Lester        JR Fairfield              15:47  5:05
88  705 NCS Mike Roderick       SR Monte Vista            15:48  5:05
96  609 NCS Jeff Bickert        SO College Park           15:51  5:06
102  559 NCS Steven Iglehart    SR Branson                15:53  5:07 
106  851 NS  Domenic D'Acquisto SO Enterprise             15:55  5:08
109  798 NCS Ben Rich           JR Washington             15:55  5:08
111  725 NCS Devin Lockert      SR Petaluma               15:56  5:08
114    2 CCS Lance Wolfsmith    SR Ann Sobrato            15:56  5:08
117  573 NCS Colby Pines        SR Campolindo             15:57  5:08
123  642 NCS Drew Callen        SR Granada                15:59  5:09
124 1331 SJS Adam Kelly-Strong  JR Jesuit                 15:59  5:09
126  105 CCS Paul Summers       JR Gunn                   15:59  5:09

Also making top 10 in state:
191  737 NCS Josh MacDonald     JR Redwood Christian      16:11  5:13 
203  755 NCS Weishen Mead       SR San Francisco Univ Hs  16:13  5:14 

Final batch of newspaper articles pre State Meet...

Liberty High's Landrum runs for more than food now (Contra Costa Times)

Petaluma boys found their missing link -- a wolverine (Press Democrat)

Teamwork at its best (San Mate Daily Journal)

Daily Review Athlete's of the Week (Contra Costa Times)

Area runners headed for state cross country championships (The Union)

Vikings runner ready for state meet (Recordnet.com)

Woodward Park Course Maps

Northern California Rankings Pre-State Meet...

Boys ...........................................................Girls
1) Mt. View CCS........................................1) Mt. View CCS
2) Campolindo NCS..................................2) Livermore NCS
3) Petaluma NCS......................................3) St. Ignatius CCS
4) Davis Sr. SJS........................................4) Maria Carrillo NCS
5) Aptos CCS.............................................5) Gunn CCS
6) Carlmont CCS.......................................6) Woodcreek SJS
7) College Park NCS.................................7) Oak Ridge SJS
8) Amador Valley NCS.............................8) Carondelet NCS
9) Bellarmine CCS.....................................9) Castro Valley NCS
10) Woodcreek SJS................................10) St. Mary's Berkeley NCS

Honorable Mention (10 teams in alphabetical order)
Castro Valley NCS........................................Aptos CCS
De La Salle NCS..........................................Campolindo NCS
Del Campo SJS...........................................College Park NCS
El Camino SJS..................................................Carlmont CCS
Gunn CCS........................................Davis Sr. SJS
Las Lomas NCS......................................Del Oro SJS
Palo Alto CCS.............................................Los Gatos CCS
Salinas CCS.................................................Monte Vista NCS
St. Ignatius CCS..........................................Ponderosa SJS
Willow Glen CCS.........................................St. Francis, Mt. View CCS

Boys' Individuals
1) Wyatt Landrum (12) Liberty NCS
2) Matt Peterson (12) Davis SJS
3) Garrett Seawell (12) Woodcreek SJS
4) Garrett Rowe (11) Mt. View CCS
5) Nohe Lema (12) Willow Glen CCS
6) Sterling Lockert (12) Petaluma NCS
7) Ian Myjer (11) Mt. View CCS
8) Robert Pulford (12) Campolindo NCS
9) Nathanael Litwiller (12) Clayton Valley NCS
10) Tyre Johnson (12) Palma CCS

On the bubble:
Steven Iglehart (12) Branson NCS
Brennan Lynch (12) Santa Cruz CCS,
Mike Roderick (12) Monte Vista NCS
Philip MacQuitty (11) Palo Alto CCS
Chris Haworth (12) Kennedy SJS
Erik Olson (11) Novato NCS

Girls' Individual
1) Jennifer Bergman (12) Valley Christian, SJ CCS
2) Jacque Taylor (11) Casa Grande NCS
3) Justine Fedronic (12) Carlmont CCS
4) Katy Daly (12) St. Ignatius CCS
5) Heather Cerney (11) Carondelet NCS
6) Colleen Lillig (11) California NCS
7) Rachel Hinds (10) St. Ignatius CCS
8) Stephanie Barnett (12) Leland CCS
9) Diana George (12) Livermore NCS
10) Isabel Andrade (11) Petaluma NCS

On the bubble:
Alycia Cridebring (11) College Park NCS
Damajeria DuBose (12) Bishop O'Dowd NCS
Marrissa Ferrante (11) Aptos CCS
Brooke Holt (10) Granite Bay SJS
Maria Malone (12) Folsom SJS
Jessie Petterson (10) Carlmont CCS
Mary Reynolds (12) Mt. View CCS

Feel free to comment on the above rankings. I thought it would be interesting to rank the teams and individuals before Saturday's state meet. I based the rankings off the performances at the section meets (CCS, SJS, NCS, NS, OAK and SF). If you feel, like I left runners and/or teams off the list, please let me know. We can compare this list to what actually happens at the state meet following this Saturday.

Best of luck to all Northern California teams and athletes.

Northern California Newspaper Coverage...

Liberty-Brentwood's gutty cross country champ (SF Chronicle)

Thunder runners prepare for state meet (Placer Herald)

Runners St. Francis, Weiss, King make state prep cross country meets (Sonoma News)

Carrillo's 'other' team does pretty well at NCS, too (Press Democrat)

SF Chronicle Athletes of the Week (Jacque Taylor and many more NCS runners)

Prep athletes of the week: Fortuna's Johnson and Ozard (Times Standard)

Around the horn (Berryessa Sun)

Time to give thanks, sports fans (Gilroy Dispatch)

More to come in the next couple of days as newspapers do their state meet previews. If you have any links, forward them to me at albertjcaruana@gmail.com and I will add them to this list.

Catching up with Mt. View's Garrett Rowe...

Today we chat with junior runner Garrett Rowe who is the lead runner for the best boys' team in Northern California, Mt. View HS. Garrett won the CCS Division II individual title on November 15th at Toro Park after a incredibly close 2nd his sophomore year. His sophomore track season came to a sudden end with an injury but after a slow start in xc, Garrett is on a definite roll heading into the state meet this coming Saturday.

1) How did you get your start in distance running?
I first started running a little bit in seventh grade when I started burning out on club soccer. I finally gave up soccer my freshman year. My parents were very supportive of my transition into running and that helped me come to love the sport.

2) I believe your dad had some success in running as well. What were some of his accomplishments and times?
In high school my dad was two-time Indiana state champ for XC amd two time state champ at 2 miles. He was All-American his junior and senior years. He was the captain of the Princeton XC team in the early 80's. He still holds the record for the 1000m indoors at Princeton and won 3 consecutive Heps titles indoors at that distance. After college, he ran a 3:40 for 1500m.

3) What was your experience like during your freshman year in cross country? What runners did you look upto as you were getting started?
Freshman year was a little scary for me in cross country because it was a step-up, but the seniors on the team were great guys, and I looked up to them when I was getting started. They were always supportive of everyone on the team and I think that most of us looked up to them for that reason.

4) Where do you feel like you made the transition to the runner you are today?
I'm not exactly sure if I made any sudden transitions into who I am, but I think that the accumulation of experience through my first three years of high school has shaped me as a runner. Some successes and some tough times, like getting injured last spring with a stress fracture in my heel.

5) You experienced some injuries last year during track season. What did you learn from dealing with those injuries?
I learned that I have to be careful about how much racing I do, because there are only so many times that a runner can handle the stress of a race. With the great weather we have in California, it's easy to get carried away with running too many races over a very long season in XC and track.

6) Tell us a little about your coach Even Smith and what he has meant to the Mt. View Cross Country and Track and Field teams.
Coach Smith is the backbone of our team. In believe Smith's biggest asset is that he encourages the strong runners and the up and coming runners equally. The JV and frosh-soph teams that back up our varsity squads are incredible both in talent, hard work and enthusiasm. Smith screams and cheers as hard for JV and frosh-soph as he does for varsity. Motivation runs up and down the roster and it's all because of the way Smith focuses on every individual regardless of talent. I love being on this team and so does everybody else.

7) What did you do differently this summer in terms of training?
The main difference between this summer and last summer was the quality of the mileage. I only stepped up my mileage a tiny bit from last year (50 to 55), but I made most of my runs faster. I also did alot of my summer running at altitude in Tahoe. I have a good friend who lives in Incline and he took me on some death runs that went up to 9,000 feet.

8) What do you consider to be the most important parts of the training program at Mt. View and what workouts give you the most confidence going into the races?
I think the best parts of the program are the interval workouts, because while they usually consist of difficult, fast mile or two mile repeats, they are targeted at maintaining a high level of threshold fitness. These workouts have also been important to sustain peaking until later in the season.

9) Most runners of your ability do not have teammates that can run with them during practice. That is not the case for you in that you have Ian Myjer. What has he meant to your running success?
Ian and I have been friends since third grade. He's tough as nails, not to mention the most supportive teammate I could ask for. I admire his enhanced dedication to running over the past year and it's great to have friendly competition with him. We're both team-oriented and want to do whatever we can to help Mountain View win.

10) Who are the teams that Mt. View will be battling with at the state meet?
I think our main competitors in DII are Loyola and Thousand Oaks, though I'm not saying I would count out any other team. We'll fight it out to the end, and I think it's going to be a very tight race.

11) From this season so far: Favorite course? Favorite race? Favorite competitor? Your best race?
So far, my favorite course has been Mt. Sac, though we didn't get to run there this year, so I've only run the course once as a soph. Crystal Springs would be a close second. I feel my best race was CCS at Toro Park, even though the time wasn't very fast because it was hot. My favorite race was probably Leagues at Crystal, because it was a lot of fun to run with Ian the whole way. Finally, Ian's my favorite competitor because he's the only guy I don't get mad at when he beats me!

12) Anything else you would like to add.
I get asked alot why I always race with Oakley M-Frames on. I want to set the record straight that I wear contacts and my eyes are sensitive to dust and bright light. I even carry a doctor's note in my bag because I've been hassled by officials at the starting line. I'm not trying to look like Jeremy Wariner, but I wish I had his 400m speed...Thanks Mr. Caruana!

Thank you very much Garrett! AJC

More NCS '08 Pictures

Wyatt Landrum's journey to fastest time of the day!

Jacque Taylor on her way to fastest time of the day for the girls

College Park huddle before the start of the Division I boys' race

2nd and 3rd Place Division V Girls/Lean at the line gets the nod

3rd Place Division IV Boys - San Rafael
2nd Place Division IV Boys - St. Mary's Berkeley

2nd Place Division I Girls - College Park

2nd Place Division I Boys - Amador Valley

2nd Place Division II Boys - Washington

2nd Batch of Newspaper Articles and NCS Data...

Liberty's Landrum blazes to first NCS cross country title (Inside Bay Area)

C.V., Washington punch tickets to the state meet (Inside Bay Area)

Roderick masters MOC (Inside Bay Area)

St. Mary's strolls to second straight NCS Division IV crown (Conta Costa Times)

Data courtesy of Peter Guerrini and ezmeets.com
Boys' 1st team All-NCS
Wyatt Landrum (12) Liberty #1 14:47 4:55
Sterling Lockert (12) Petaluma #1 15:04 5:01
Nathanael Litwiller (12) Clayton Valley #1 15:10 5:03
Robert Pulford (12) Campolindo #1 15:10 5:03
Erik Olson (11) Novato #1 15:12 5:04
Dan Milechman (10) Tamalpais #1 15:18 5:06
Mike Roderick (12) Monte Vista #1 15:19 5:06

Boys' 2nd team All-NCS
Rory McLeod (12) Santa Rosa #1 15:23 5:07
Jeff Bickert (10) College Park #1 15:27 5:09
Ross Geiger (12) Campolindo #2 15:28 5:09
Danny Thomas (11) Arroyo #1 15:34 5:11
Hugh Dowdy (11) Petaluma #2 15:34 5:11
Michael Jamieson (12) Las Lomas #1 15:37 5:12
Devin Lockert (12) Petaluma #3 15:37 5:12*Steven Iglehart (12) Branson #1 15:37 5:12*
*Tie for 7th spot

Boys' 3rd team All-NCS
Bisrat Zerehaimanot (12) Hayward #1 15:39 5:13
Colby Pines (12) Campolindo #3 15:39 5:13
Spencer Sheaff (12) De La Salle #1 15:40 5:13
Alex Summers (11) Granada #1 15:41 5:13
Ben Eversole (10) Castro Valley #1 15:41 5:13
Drew Callen (12) Granada #2 15:43 5:14
Reesey Byers (11) Santa Rosa #2 15:44 5:14

Honorable Mention
Garrett Ward (12) Amador Valley #1 15:45 5:15
Andrew Zellman (11) Ukiah #1 15:45 5:15
Aria Kiani (11) Montgomery #1 15:45 5:15
Michael Brondello (12) Campolindo #4 15:45 5:15
Peter Kissin (12) Redwood #1 15:46 5:15
Ben Rich (11) Washington #1 15:47 5:15
Benjamin Stern (12) Petaluma #4 15:47 5:15

Girls' 1st team All-NCS
Jacque Taylor (11) Casa Grande #1 17:17 5:45
Heather Cerney (11) Carondelet #1 17:30 5:50
Colleen Lillig (11) California #1 17:38 5:52
Diana George (12) Livermore #1 17:43 5:54
Isabel Andrade (11) Petaluma #1 17:47 5:55
Damajeria DuBose (12) Bishop O'Dowd #1 17:51 5:57
Alycia Cridebring (11) College Park #1 17:56 5:58

Girls' 2nd team All-NCS
Carrie Verdon (9) Campolindo #1 18:03 6:01
Kelsey Santisteban (10) Castro Valley #1 18:10 6:03
Julie Nacouzi (10) Montgomery #1 18:10 6:03
Lauren Curtin (11) Maria Carrillo #1 18:14 6:04
Theresa Devine (11) Marin Catholic #1 18:14 6:04
Celeste Berg (12) Montgomery #2 18:16 6:05
Abigail Gregg (12) Livermore #2 18:19 6:06

Girls' 3rd team All-NCS
Rachel Mitchell (12) American #1 18:20 6:06
Francesca Honey (9) Petaluma #2 18:22 6:07
Kellie Houser (12) Carondelet #2 18:24 6:08
Hayley Swanson (12) Granada #1 18:31 6:10
Suzi Rozga (11) Santa Rosa #1 18:31 6:10
Jennifer Goldstein (10) Foothill #1 18:32 6:10
Natalie Dimits (9) Livermore #3 18:34 6:11

Honorable Mention
Lucy McCullough (10) Marin Academy #1 18:35 6:11
Cara Curtin (11) Maria Carrillo #2 18:39 6:13
Rosie Smith (12) College Park #2 18:42 6:14
Amber Piersol (9) Windsor #1 18:42 6:14
Jordan Davis (12) Maria Carrillo #3 18:43 6:14
Marisa Martines (10) Castro Valley #2 18:44 6:14
Nicole Rumore (12) Carondelet #3 18:46 6:15

Combined boys (teams and individuals)
Combined girls (teams and individuals)

Boys
All 12th graders combined
All 11th graders combined
All 10th graders combined
All 9th graders combined

Girls
All 12th graders combined
All 11th graders combined
All 10th graders combined
All 9th graders combined

Fastest boys' team times at Hayward from 1999, 2001, '02, '04, '05, '06, '07 and '08
1) Camplindo '08 77:55
2) Petaluma '08 78:02
3) Petaluma '07 78:52
4) Monte Vista '07 78:59
5) College Park '08 79:25
6) Amador Valley '08 79:35
7) De La Salle '05 79:36
8) Campolindo '04 79:41
9) De La Salle '07 79:43
10) Amador Valley '07 79:46

Fastest girs' team times at Hayward from 1999, 2001, '02, '04, '05, '06, '07 and '08
1) Carondelet '06 91:47
2) Carondelet '07 92:14
3) Maria Carrillo '04 92:42
4) Bishop O'Dowd '04 92:46
5) Livermore '08 92:54
6) Montgomery '02 93:19
7) College Park '02 93:26
8) Miramonte '05 93:28
9) Carondelet '08 92:32
10) Maria Carrillo '08 93:45
10) Campolindo '07 93:45

First batch of Newspaper Articles and NCS Data...

Prep cross country: Marin runners strike gold at NCS championships (Marin IJ)

Cross country: North Bay dominates NCS (SF Chronicle)

Redwood Empire runners and teams (Press Democrat)

BOYS
Fastest #1 Runner
Wyatt Landrum (12) Liberty #1 14:47
Fastest #2 Runner
Ross Geiger (12) Campolindo #2 15:28
Fastest #3 Runner
Devin Lockert (12) Petaluma #3 15:37
Fastest #4 Runner
Michael Brondello (12) Campolindo #4 15:45
Fastest #5 Runner
Nate Cox (12) Campolindo #5 15:53
Fastest #6 Runner
Paul Jackson (11) Campolindo #6 16:04
Fastest #7 Runner
Brandon Felipe (12) Petaluma #7 16:06

GIRLS
Fastest #1 Runner
Jacque Taylor (11) Casa Grande #1 17:17
Fastest #2 Runner
Celeste Berg (12) Montgomery #2 18:16
Fastest #3 Runner
Natalie Dimits (9) Livermore #3 18:34
Fastest #4 Runner
Kelly O'Leary (12) Maria Carrillo #4 18:58
Robin Roque (12) Livermore #4 18:58 Fastest #5 Runner
Sarah DiRado (12) Maria Carrillo #5 19:11
Fastest #6 Runner
Gabrielle White (10) Castro Valley #6 19:21
Fastest #7 Runner
Michaela Alamillo (10) Carondelet #7 19:41Teams Qualifying Both Boys and Girls Teams to State MeetCollege Park (Div. I)
Campolindo (Div. III)
Las Lomas (Div. III)
St. Mary's Berkeley (Div. IV)
San Francisco University (Div. V)
College Prep (Div. V)

1st, 2nd, 3rd and Honorable Mention All-NCS teams will be posted tomorrow.

Individual winners from today's NCS Meet

NCS Results courtesy of the NCS Website and Peter Guerrini (ezmeets.com)

Division I Boys - Mike Roderick (Monte Vista)
Division I Boys Results

Division I Girls - Colleen Lillig (California)
Division I Girls Results
Divisioin II Boys - Wyatt Landrum (Liberty)
Division II Boys Results
Division II Girls - Jacque Taylor (Casa Grande)
Division II Girls Results
Division III Boys - Sterling Lockert (Petaluma)
Division III Boys Results
Division III Girls - Isabel Andrade (Petaluma)
Division III Girls Results

Division IV Boys - Dan Milechman (Tamalpais)
Division IV Boys Results
Division IV Girls - Theresa Devine (Marin Catholic)
Division IV Girls Results
Division V Boys - Steven Iglehart (Branson)
Division V Boys Results
Division V Girls - Lucy McCullough (Marin Academy)
Division V Girls Results

Pictures of team champions from today's NCS Meet

Division I Boys - College Park

Division I Girls - Castro Valley
Division II Boys - De La Salle
Division II Girls - Livermore
Division III Boys - Campolindo
Division III Girls - Maria Carrillo
Division IV Boys - Tamalpais
Division IV Girls - St. Mary's Berkeley
Division V Boys - University
Division V Girls - Marin Academy
Lots of NCS Data on the way including combined individuals and teams as well as top seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen.

If you have any other data you might be interested in, please let me know.

Individual winner pictures will be up next.

Thank you all for your continued support of this blog.

Amazing what coverage our sport get at this time of the year...

Empire runners poised for big day in Hayward (Press Democrat)

North Coast Section cross country championships capsule (Inside Bay Area)

Prep cross country: Iglehart aims high heading into NCS meet (Marin IJ)

Novato’s Erik Olson runs cross country with a passion (Novato Advance)

SLV, SV juniors qualify for state cross country meet (Press Banner)

Here we go...it's NCS time!

NCS Predictions by Peter Brewer

Race Predictions:
(in collaboration with Albert Caruana and Harry Skandara)

Division I
Boys
1. Amador Valley -- clear winners in EBAL very tough this year.
2. College Park -- soph Jeff Bickert leads aggressive squad -- dominated the BVAL
3. Monte Vista -- Mustangs have Mike Roderick show up front , but stumbled a bit at EBAL finals
4. Granada -- lost #3 man to injury, but still have strong cluster
5. Castro Valley -- nipped by Bishop O’Dowd at HAAL finals; look to regroup

Girls:
1. Castro Valley -- Trojans able to group under a minute in HAAL win
2. College Park -- Falcons swamp DVAL competition; Alycia Cridenbring leads strong group
3. California -- Colleen Lilllig continues to roll; the Grizzlies took third in tough EBAL
4. Granada -- Matadors were barely edged by California in EBAL
5. Monte Vista -- placed 5th on home course in EBAL but have very good 1-2 punch

Division II
Boys
1) De La Salle -- tough Spartans 1st at Stanford, top NCS time at Mt. SAC but 2nd in EBAL
2) Santa Rosa -- Rory MacLeod and Panthers dominated NBL
3) Washington -- Huskies rampaged through the MVAL
4) Montgomery -- Vikings were 3rd in NBL behind Santa Rosa and Maria Carrillo
5) Alameda -- Hornets are power in ACCAL

Girls
1) Livermore -- Diana George and crew are legitimate; beat Carondelet easily at EBAL
2) Carondelet -- Cougars have had up-and-down performances but are among state’s best
3) Casa Grande -- Jacque Taylor leads solid crew; the best of the SCL
4) Montgomery -- gave Maria Carrillo a scare in NBL finals
5) Santa Rosa -- 3rd in NBL behind Maria Carrillo and Montgomery

Division III
Boys
1) Petaluma -- Coach Jim Lynch has crew more than ready for post-season; swept SCL 1-6
2) Campolindo -- the Cougars are top-notch squad themselves
3) Las Lomas -- The Knights were the only DFAL team in sight of Campolindo
4) Maria Carrillo -- the Pumas chased Santa Rosa in the SCL finals
5) Redwood -- perennial power out of MCAL

Girls
1) Maria Carrillo -- even with Curtin twins subpar easily took NBL
2) Campolindo -- in a roll with frosh Carrie Verdon leading pack
3) Petaluma -- Trojans only team to keep Casa Grande honest in SCL
4) Alhambra -- Jewelz Andrew led Bulldogs to upset 2nd in DFAL
5) Las Lomas -- Knights 3rd in DFAL

Division IV
Boys
1) St. Mary's Berkeley -- took a one-point loss to Albany in BSAL final -- will be hungry
2) San Rafael -- 2nd in MCAL behind Redwood
3) Tamalpais -- 3rd in MCAL behind Redwood
4) Justin-Siena -- 5th in MCAL behind Redwood
5) Moreau Catholic -- 4th in HAAL

Girls
1) St. Mary's Berkeley -- one of the state’s best
2) Piedmont -- 2nd behind St. Mary’s in BSAL
3) Terra Linda -- 3rd in MCAL
4) Moreau Catholic -- 3rd in HAAL
5) Arcata -- depleted team took 2nd in HDNL; will be at full strength

Division V
Boys
1) University -- simply the best this year
2) Berean Christian -- 2nd in DVAL
3) Redwood Christian -- 1st in BCL East
4) College Prep -- 2nd in BCL Est
5) St. Joseph Notre Dame -- 4th in BSAL

Girls
1) University -- Red Devils still strong
2) College Prep -- class of BCL East
3) Marin Academy -- chased University well
4) Head Royce -- 2nd in BCL East
5) Lick Wilmerding -- 3rd in BCL West

Awesome Cross Country Picture from CCS Meet!

I found this picture in the Hollister Free Lance. It's Anzar's Aaron Hsia-Coron, winner of the Division V race at the CCS race this past Saturday. I thought it was a pretty cool shot.

Northern California Cross Country Newspaper Coverage...

Mtn. View boys, girls cross-country teams claim CCS titles (Los Altos Town Crier)

NCS next challenge for Petaluma, Casa Grande cross country runners (Petaluma 360)

Boys' cross country advances to states for first time in 16 years (Paly Voice)

Running away with CCS (SJ Mercury News)

SJ Mercury News Athlete of the Week (Garrett Rowe, Mt. View HS)

San Benito sends 2 to state (Hollister Free Lance)

Stump, Geiken are Los Gatos cross-country leaders at CCS (Los Gatos)

Anzar's Hsia-Coron nabs CCS title (Hollister Free Lance)

Woodcreek girls take section cross country crown (Roseville Press Tribune)

West Valley hosts cross country championships (Anderson Valley Post)

Riverbank Sends Two Runners To State Meet (The Riverbank News)

Prep Athlete of the Week: Early decision change proves right for Carrillo (ChicoER.com)

End of the road (Tracy Press)

NCS Predictions will be posted later today. Looks like it's going to be a nice day at Hayward HS this Saturday but thankfully nothing like CCS last week.

As always, if you have any newspaper article links that I didn't post, please send them to albertjcaruana@gmail.com