Friday, September 09, 2016

Ed Sias Invitational Varsity races preview courtesy of Campolindo coach, Andy Lindquist

Varsity Boys Small School 11:05am:
The first varsity race of the day should prove to be an exciting battle between some of the top teams from the North Coast Section as Campolindo and Maria Carrillo both bring deep and talented squads. Ben Lawson is at the front for Carrillo and appears primed for a big breakthrough after some recent eye popping performances while Jared Yabu paces Campo, who will look to defend their team title from a year ago. Individually Luis Ramirez of Benicia, Munir Kabbara of San Rafael and Colin De Julio of Vista Del Lago are all in contention to battle it out for the individual title. Last year’s winner Cooper Teare of St. Joseph Notre Dame will not be competing here but the pilots will still be running a strong squad led by Willie Mein to keep them in the hunt for a top 5 finish.  

Varsity Boys Large School 11:30am:
This race could end up being the most exciting of the day from both a team and individual perspective as the field is beyond loaded with talent. Nationally ranked Bellarmine College Prep is making the trip up from San Jose and they bring a ridiculously talented and deep squad lead by Meika Beaudoin-Rousseau. They will face off against a solid Monte Vista squad that has looked incredible so far this season. The mustangs feature a tremendous top 3 in the form of Tristian Miller, Nicolaus Vomund and Daniel Maneloveg and should give Bellarmine a tough test. St. Francis of Mountain View, Dublin, and Clayton Valley all bring back a wealth of talent and they should factor into the team battle as well. Isaias De Leon of De La Salle is off to a hot start so far this season and will be right in the mix to win the individual title after his recent breakthrough at the loaded Cool Breeze Invite.  

Varsity Girls Small School 11:55am:
It looks like this is shaping up to be battle between strong squads from Bishop O’Dowd, Piedmont, Las Lomas, Maria Carrillo and Miramonte. O’Dowd returns the majority of their team from last season and looks primed to take home their 4th straight team title here. Challenging them will be the defending NCS division IV champions from Piedmont, who also boast a great amount of returning depth. Las Lomas, Maria Carrillo, and Miramonte will also factor in the team competition here, with all three teams teams having had great starts to their seasons so far. Individually defending champion Cassy Haskell of Miramonte looks to be the big favorite again this season but she will be challenged by Emily Perez of St. Joseph Notre Dame and Rayna Stanziano of Concord. Hannah Fishlow of Miramonte should also be in contention to land a top finishing spot.   

Varsity Girls Large School 12:20pm:
This race will see the debut of superstar freshman Isabella Fauria of St. Francis (Sacramento) who along with Sydney Vandegrift will provide the troubadours with ample firepower up front. Fauria has been an age group sensation for quite a while and will look to step up against Homestead’s Elena Kamas and Lindsay Allen will also be battling it out up from along with Jaxin Woodward of Vacaville. Despite competing shorthanded, Monte Vista looks to be in contention for the team title along with St. Francis and Homestead. CCS powers Monta Vista and Archbishop Mitty should be contenders as well.  

3 comments:

Murr said...

I would include the Homestead boys as a contender in the large school race. What a lineup! Sorry that this came at the expense of the Earlybird but what a great way to start the season.

Andrew said...

Nice write up, Andy. Good luck with the meet tomorrow.
Looks like Dublin will not have Surapaneni this weekend, don't think it's injury related (hard to tell right now, but he did race a scrimmage in late August).

Didn't think Teare would open here, which is unfortunate, but understandable given his focus on a national meet. Good of you to confirm.

Murr said...

Looks like Homestead split their squad so they were pretty far off the pace. Bell looked really solid, even without one of their top guys. SF is showing signs of improvement all the way down to their top FS team. Throw in Paly who were at Lowell, and this is going to be a great season in the CCS!

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