2017 NCS Division IV pre-season Cross Country rankings

Our next NCS pre-season rankings will be Division IV boys (girls will be posted tomorrow). The radical changes made in NCS last year resulted in a more competitive division here. Last season, the Bishop O'Dowd boys won their third section title in school history along with their Division I win in 1995 and Group 1 win in 1957! They outdistanced a game McKinleyville team which finished in 2nd place for the second year in a row. The defending section team champion, Sir Francis Drake, finished in 3rd place. The individual winner was Hercules senior Ryan Cutter (15:13.3) who finished just in front of Arcata senior Kellen O'Neill (15:14.4).

For the upcoming season, we should have a better idea of the leading contenders now that we have seen these teams compete against each other in 2016. We will start with the boys and the favorite at this point is the defending champion, Bishop O'Dowd. They were very impressive at the section meet with their best team effort of the season and followed that up with an 8th place finish at the state meet. They return the best trio of runners (Thomas Murphy 4:36.66/10:02.52, Cole Kretlow 4:36.68/10:05.95 and Spencer Berkins 4:30.52/9:59.18) in the division but will need to replace a couple of seniors from their top 5.

Their competition should come from last year's 3rd place team and the 2015 champion, Sir Francis Drake. They return a bit more than BOD with 4 out of their top 5 but will have to find a way to break up the top 3 runners for the Dragons in order to compete for a section title. They will be led by juniors Cooper McCarthy 4:39.39/9:38.11 and Gabriel Rueter 4:41.10/9:49.02. Sophomore Owen Wolford had a solid track season with 2:02.63/4:45.45 personal bests. Junior Nicco Pompili ran an impressive 1:57.76 at the NCS Redwood Empire area meet.

The chase for the 3rd and final state meet qualifying spot should be led by last year's 7th place team, Piner. They return their entire lineup and will also benefit from teams above them losing strong seniors. Last year's 2nd place team, McKinleyville, will also be in Division V next year. Piner will be led by senior Jonny Vargas 4:34.10/9:43.06 who finished in 5th place at last year's section final.

The race for the individual title will feature the two top returning runners from last year's section final. Muni Kabbara San Rafael 4:20.23/9:38.12 finished in 3rd place last year and will be slight favorite at this point. Piner's Jonny Vargas finished in 5th and is well within striking distance. Reece Proctor Piedmont 1:57.05/4:24.70 finished in 10th last year and will be aiming for a top 3 spot this coming season. The Bishop O'Dowd trio of Thomas Murphy, Cole Kretlow and Spencer Berkins all broke 16 last year at Hayward and will be among the leaders. If you are looking for a wild card in this division, look no further than Miramonte senior James Bull 4:26.50/9:31.88. He finished in 23rd place last year but was quite impressive during the spring track season and will be a definite factor.

In the girls' race, the Miramonte girls enjoyed being back in Division IV by winning their first section title since winning Division III in 2005. Bishop O'Dowd, Piedmont and Justin-Siena were the next three team that all qualified to the state meet. Miramonte sophomore Cassy Haskell won her first individual section title after finishing in second place in Division III in 2015.

For this coming season, the race for the team section title should be an interesting one. The top two teams from last season, Miramonte and Bishop O'Dowd, will be in rebuilding mode. Miramonte returns one runner from their championship team but that one runner is the defending individual champion, Cassey Haskell (2:21.36/5:17.61 season bests). They will need a major influx of talent and improvement from their returning runners but starting out with potentially the best runner in the division is always a good problem to have. The Bishop O'Dowd girls will also be replacing much of their lineup but will have a little more coming back with juniors Isabella Brusco 2:32.55/5:25.30/11:42.96 and Jeneva Toolijan 5:25.30/11:57.98 and sophomore Kalea Fong 2:36.96/5:36.15.

The slight favorite at this point is Piedmont. They finished in 3rd place last year but return the majority of that team (5 out of top 7). They will be led by Margo Donahue who finished in 11th place at the 2016 NCS meet. Justin-Siena finished in 4th place for the 2nd year in a row and will be hoping for at least another top 4 finish. They return 3 of their top 5 including their #1 runner, Hannah Chau 2:29.33/5:20.51. Marin Catholic, Moreau Catholic, Piner and Albany have all been solid teams in this division and could break into the top 5 with a solid summer of training.

The race for the individual title will look very familiar to last season. Cassy Haskell Miramonte won last year but had a very average track and field season dealing with injuries. 2nd place finisher Marissa D'Atri Alhambra (2:11.77/5:07.47/11:34.49) and 3rd place finisher Gabrielle Peterson Healdsburg (2:19.11/4:47.74/10:59.75) both had impressive track and field seasons and will be aiming squarely for the win. 5th place finisher Cynthia Rosales Piner also had an injury riddle season and will look to rebound to past form in the fall. Shelby Nelson Encinal 5:07.35/11:11.92 finished in 7th place and finished this past track and field season in a flurry.

Division IV Boys (Top 3 Advance to State)
1) Bishop O'Dowd-Tough top 3 could led them to 2nd straight section title.
2) Sir Francis Drake-You can make a case for them being favorites above BOD at this point.
3)  Piner-Return their entire top 7 from last year and will be aiming for a top 3 finish.
4) Miramonte-4th place last year and could once again could be in the mix to qualify for state.
5) Piedmont-Hoping for top 3 finish after just missing the state meet in '15.
On the bubble: Albany, Marin Catholic, Moreau Catholic

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2016 NCS meet time:
Munir Kabbara (3) San Rafael 15:21.7
Jonny Vargas (5) Piner 15:29.0
Thomas Murphy (8) Bishop O'Dowd 15:54.2
Cole Kretlow (9) Bishop O'Dowd 15:55.9
Reece Proctor (10) Piedmont 15:56.1

Division IV Girls (Top 4 Advance to State)
1) Piedmont-Over past 3 years, they have two titles and a 3rd place finish.
2) Bishop O'Dowd-Mostly new lineup but promising track and field season.
3) Justin-Siena-Have qualified for last two state meets and return 5 from last XC season.
4) Sir Francis Drake-Been on the cusp of making state and will hope to finish here.
5) Miramonte-Defending champions return one runner but defending individual champion.
On the bubble: Albany, Marin Catholic, Moreau Catholic, Piner

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2016 NCS meet time:
Cassy Haskell (1) Miramonte 17:34.8
Marissa D'Atri (2) Alhambra 17:54.1
Gabrielle Peterson (3) Healdsburg 17:55.6
Cynthia Rosales (5) Piner 18:05.2
Shelby Nelson (7) Encinal 18:18.4

Comments? Do you know of impact freshmen that will attend at any of the above schools? Feel free to chime in the comment section below. Did I miss anybody? How would you rank this division differently?

Track Town Summer Series meet at Stanford University tonight

2017 Pre-Season North Coast Section (NCS) Division IV/V Cross Country Rankings

These will be posted in the next couple of days. Feel free to comment on either or both divisions and who you think will be the top teams and individuals. One change from the past few seasons is that McKinleyville, one of the top teams in Division IV, will now be competing in Division V.

2017 State Meet XC auto team qualifiers

You can check out the qualifiers for the 2017 meet at this LINK (updated). The only changes from 2016 to 2017 are as follows. The Central Coast Section loses one state meet spot for boys' Division I which goes to North Coast Section Sac-Joaquin Section. The other change is that the Central Coast Section loses a spot in boys' Division III which goes to the San Diego Section.

The second change is no surprise at all as Division III (especially on the boys' side) has become the weakest division for CCS. The first change is quite surprising but since it's based on the past four years, the average brings another spot to the 8 division 1 teams now competing in NCS (this is possibly an error and is being double checked). You read correctly, 8 TEAMS! 3 out of 8 competing teams at next year's NCS boys' Division I race will advance to the state meet. Those numbers will change in the next few years but tough pill to swallow for teams that were normally in Division I in past NCS meets and now must face a much tougher road in lower divisions. It looks like after the CIF Office went back and looked at the numbers for the past four seasons, CCS did indeed lose a spot in Division I and now SJS will now have 3 teams advance to state meet in the same division.

2017 Nike Cross Country Coaches Clinic at Dublin HS

First speaker...
Timo Mostert American Fork HS (boys' team has qualified for last 8 NXN races including three 2nd place finishes) also 4 x mile national record at Arcadia Invitational. You can check out my interview with Timo from 2012 at this LINK.

5 Things that changed our program...
Summer
Written Plans
Capillary Runs
Power Runs
Mega-Abs

Next speaker...
Alex Mason St. Joseph Notre Dame HS (aka Cooper Teare's coach)
Training Design
Base Mileage
Alactic Hill Sprints
Tempo (LT) Repeats
Fartleks above or at LT pace
Extensive Strength Endurance Circuits
Intensive Uphill Strength Endurance Circuits
Igloi/Portuguese Intervals
CV Repeats
Lactic Capacity training
Lactic Resistance
Lactic Capacity vs Lactic Resistance
Long Run Fast

Now speaking...
Chris Williams Dublin HS (aka Dublin Distance Fiesta meet director extraordinaire)
ABCDublin
Accountability
Believe "The Plan" "The Players" "The Power"
Courage

2017 Cross Country Invitational schedule

I will be adding invites as I find them. In the meantime, feel free to add any invites/dates in the comment section below.

August
August 25 Lodi Flame Invitational at Lodi Lake
August 25 Run On The Green at Woodland HS
August 26 Oakmont Invitational at Maidu Park
August 31 Jaguar Invitational at Eagal Lakes

September
September 1 Bill Springhorn Classic at Shasta College Course
September 2 Lagoon Valley Classic @ Lagoon Valley Park
September 2 San Benito Dry River Run
September 2 Thunder Two-Miler at Buhach Colony HS
September 5 Monte Vista Invitational at Oak Hill Park
September 8 Las Plumas Invitational at North Forebay State Recreation Center
September 9 Chieftain-Spirit Classic at Toro Park, Salinas
September 9 Ed Sias Invitational at Hidden Valley Park
September 9 Lowell Invitational at Golden Gate Park
September 9 Sierra Invitational at Legion Park, Modesto
September 9 Stevenson Invitational
September 9 Yreka Showdown at Greenhorn Park
September 12 Lynbrook Center Meet
September 15 Mt. Shasta Invitational at Shastice Park
September 16 Bret Harte Frogtown Invitational at Angels Camp
September 16 De La Salle/Carondelet Invitational at Newhall Park
September 16 Earlybird Invitational at Toro Park
September 16 Farmer Invitational at Hayward HS
September 16 Josh Ruff Memorial Invitational at Willow Hills Course
September 16 Viking Opener at Spring Lake Park
September 23 Ghebray Invitational at Quarry Lakes Regional Park (Fremont)
September 23 Pacific Tiger Invitational at Elkhorn Golf Course
September 27 Fall River Invitational at Fall River Course
September 27 Foothill Showcase at Foothill HS
September 27 Salinas City Championships
September 29 Golden West Invitational at Cutler Park
September 30 Capital Cross Challenge at Haggin Oaks
September 30 Westmoor Ram Invitational at Westmoor HS
September 30 Scott Bauhs Invitational at Shadow Cliffs
September 30 Clam Beach Invitational (on athletic.net)

October
October 4 Escalon Invitational at Woodward Reservoir
October  4 Redding Christian Invitational at Redding Christian
October  6 West Valley Co-Ed Invitational at West Valley HS
October  7 Artichoke Invitational at Half Moon Bay HS
October 7 Crystal Springs Invitational at Crystal Springs course (moved to this date)
October 7 Pacific Grove Invitational at Pacific Grove HS
October 7 Yreka Elks Invitational at Greenhorn Park
October 7 Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park
October 13 Chico Autumn Invitational at Hooker Oak Park
October 14 Bella Vista Bronco Invitational at Willow Hills Course
October 14 Castro Valley Invitational at Canyon Middle School (on athletic.net)
October 14 Hughson SuperCross Invitational
October 14 Merced County Championships at Atwater HS
October 14 Monterey Bay Invitational at Toro Park, Salinas
October 14 Wildfire Invitational at Foresthill Course
October 18 Aragon Center Meet
October 21 Mariner Invitational at Hayward HS
October 21 Soquel/Ken Thomas Memorial
October 26 Lynbrook Invitational at Lynbrook HS

November
November 4 CIF Sac-Joaquin SubSections at Angels Camp
November 9 CIF Northern Section Finals at West Valley HS
November 10 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Finals at Willow Hills Course
November 11 CIF Central Coast Section at Toro Park
November 11 CIF Central Coast Section at Toro Park
November 15 CIF San Francisco Section at Golden Gate Park
November 18 CIF North Coast Section at Hayward HS
November 25 California State Meet at Woodward Park

December 
December 2 FootLocker West Regional at Mt. SAC, Walnut
December 2 Nike Cross Nationals at Glendoveer GC
December 9 FootLocker Championships at Balboa Park
December 9 USATF Junior Olympics

2017 Pre-Season North Coast Section (NCS) Division II Cross Country Rankings

Here are the raw pre-season rankings with the top teams in NCS Division II as well as top returning individuals. The division breakdowns for all NCS teams can be found at this LINK. The amount of teams that qualify to the state meet in each section and division can be found at this LINK.

Division II Boys (Top 3 Advance to state)
1) Dublin-Most talented team in all of NCS. 
2) Granada-One of the best dual programs in entire section.
3) De La Salle-Couple of years missing the state meet makes this group hungry for top 3 finish.
4) Amador Valley-Two freshmen gained valuable varsity experience last year.
5) Mission San Jose-Impressive young group of runners could crack top four.

On the bubble (alphabetical order): Clayton Valley, Heritage, Liberty, Monte Vista

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2016 NCS meet time:
John Bennett (4) Granada 15:18.1
Gaurav Phanse (6) Dublin 15:20.4
Adrian Schroeder (7) Dublin 15:24.7
Dylan White (8) Clayton Valley 15:28.7
Loic Scomparin (9) Dublin 15:29.4

Division II Girls (Top 3 Advance to state)

1) Granada-Two-time defending section champions will be aiming for three in a row.
2) Monte Vista-Lose their #1 runner but return everyone else.
3) San Ramon Valley-Another talented group of girls who could challenge top 2 teams.
4) Amador Valley-Will need an influx of talent and current athletes to improve to break into top 3.
5) Liberty-Has front end runners to compete but will need to shore up the rest of the pack.
On the bubble (alphabetical order): College Park, Dublin, Santa Rosa

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2016 NCS meet time:
Colleen McCandless (2) Granada 17:29.2
Amanda Olla (3) San Ramon Valley 17:31.8
Kalea Bartolotto (5) Granada 17:57.2
Gracie Dupuis (6) Granada 18:06.7
Sidney Isom (7) Monte Vista 18:12.0

Please feel free to chime in on the rankings above. I won't be offended if you strongly disagree as the above rankings are meant to be a launching pad for conversation. Fortunately section titles and state meet berths are decided by the runners themselves. Any impact freshmen that we should know about?

Catching up with St. Mary's, Berkeley '17 grad, Owen Woo

Today we catch up with St. Mary's, Berkeley 2017 grad, Owen Woo. This past Track and Field season, Woo was one of the most improved runners in Northern California that culminated with a 9th place finish at the California state meet at Buchanan HS. As a junior, Woo had bests of 4:30.05 and 9:39.68. He improved this past season to 4:19.38 and 9:03.77 (time accomplished at NCS MOC meet).

1) You ran 9:11.86 at the CA state meet to finish in 9th place. What was your plan before the race and how do you feel about your final high school race?
My plan before state was to not get out too fast in the first 400 but then move into the front pack for as long as possible. My goal was to podium so I was a little disappointed about not doing that but I was happy being in the top 10 and just getting an opportunity to race at the state meet.

2) The week before, you ran a personal best 9:03.77 to finish in 3rd place. What were your expectations going into that race and how satisfying was it to make state in track?
At MOC, I was hoping to be in the top 3 and I thought I would be able to run about 9:10. I was super excited when I saw the time and qualified for state.

3) When did you feel like you had a chance to make the state meet this year?
I first thought I had a chance for state after I won my heat at Stanford because I ran a fast time without really any doing any speed-work.

4) Runners makes jumps in their running careers. When do you feel like you made the jump to your current level?
I think I realized I had made a jump after Dan Gabor because I ran a big PR in the rain and wind in the first race of the season. After that I had a few more PRs which showed me that I had made a jump.

5) Did you do anything differently over the winter to prepare for your senior track season? 
During the winter kept my mileage high much more consistently than I had in the past. I also did a lot more lifting to get stronger.

6) What did a typical week of training look like for you during this track season? Weekly mileage? Any morning runs? Any repeated workouts? Distance of long run? 
Monday: Uphill run on Arlington Ave. First .75 miles warm up, next 6min easy pace, next 6min long run pace, next 6min tempo. Then turn around and go back down the hill. After, fast strides.
Tuesday: AM: 2 mile run
PM:Hard workout. 3 mile warm up. Workout is usually some shorter repeats with some combination 200s, 400s, and 800s.
Wednesday: AM: 15-20min crosstrain
PM: 7-10 mile run depending on time of season.
Thursday: AM: 2 mile run
PM: Hard workout. 3 mile warm up. Usually longer reps like miles or a run with fartleks. Sometimes I have a league meet which I usually do 3 or 4 events.
Friday: AM: 15-20min crosstrain (if there is no race next day)
PM: Easy run or shakeout run. Usually 4-8 miles depending if there is a race the next day.
Saturday: AM: 2 mile run
PM: Race or another hard workout
Sunday: Long run
My weekly mileage is usually in the 60s during the track season. It sometimes went up to 70 and went down during the end of the season until 40 the week before state. I usually do short morning runs before hard workouts and races to wake up my legs. During the middle of the season I did lots of sets of 200, 200, 400 or 200, 200, 800. My long runs are usually from 12-14miles.

7) Looking back at your four cross country seasons, what are your proudest achievements and what do you feel was your best race?
My proudest achievements in cross country were running at the state meet when I was a freshman. I think my best race was at Stanford this year.

8) When did you get your start in running? What other sports did you play before high school?
I started running cross country in 6th grade but only 2 days a week. I started running seriously my freshman year. Before high school I played baseball for a long time.

9) How did you get your start in running? What was your running experience before high school? What other sports did you play?
When I was in middle school I knew I was too small to play flag football so I decided to run cross country in the fall. I had a good time so I decided to keep doing it. I only ran 2 days a week in middle school but I had a fun time and did well in a few races. In middle school, I also played Basketball and Baseball.

10) Favorite track event? Favorite track invitational? Favorite track workout? Favorite cross country course? Favorite cross country invitational? Favorite cross country workout? Favorite long run? Favorite free time activity?
My favorite event is the 3200m because it is not as chaotic as some of the shorter races. There is also a lot of time to move up in the race. My favorite invitational is Arcadia because of all the great competition and the environment at the meet. My favorite workout is 3 sets of 1000m tempo with a minute or rest then 400, 400, 200, 200 fast with a lap jog after each. It's my favorite because it is long which makes it satisfying when it's done. My favorite cross country course is the TCAL league course at Point Pinole. My favorite cross country invitational is Mt. Sac. My favorite cross country workout is long repeats in Tilden Park because it is so scenic. My favorite long run is starting from Berkeley and going to and onto the Bay Bridge and back. My favorite free time activity is going to get food with my friends or playing basketball.

11) Where will you attend college and how much running was a factor in your decision?
I will be attending Pomona-Pitzer. Being at a place where I could run and enjoy it was important but so was how I liked other aspects of the school and the academics.

12) Who are the coaches, adults and fellow runners that made the biggest impact for you and what did you learn from them?
My coaches Rogers (cross country) and Mohun (track) have been amazing guiding me through my running for the past 4 years. I've learned a lot about being patient, hard work, and how to be a smart runner. The older runners on my team have made a huge impact on me. Especially the 2013 cross country team who really got me into the sport of running. They taught me all the basics of running and how to have a good time while doing it.

13) Anything else you would like to add.
I'd like to give a shout-out to the St. Mary's Cross Country/Track team and NAGO Track Club (runners, coach, and fan/fans) for being some great training partners and friends. I also want to thank everybody who has supported me in my running. Thanks for the interview Albert!

Thank you very much for your time Owen! AJC

Brooks PR NorCal competitor results

Boys 2 Mile-Luis Grijalva Armijo 8:46.68 (2nd place)
Boys 2 Mile-Michael Vernau Davis 8:49.36 (4th place)
Boys 800-Alex Scales Bellarmine 1:54.24 (10th place)
Girls 100m Hurdles-Kaylah Robinson El Cerrito 13.72 (1st place)
Boys 110m. Hurdles-Deion Lightfoot Kimball 14.04 (3rd place)
Girls 400-Tierra Robinson-Jones Bishop O'Dowd 54.16 (5th place)
Girls 400-Alexis Surrell Newark Memorial 54.80 (6th place)
Girls 400-Kirsten Carter Santa Rosa 58.61 (8th place)
Girls 800-Alyssa Brewer California 2:07.79 (5th place)
Girls Mile-Rylee Bowen Sonoma Academy 5:04.88 (11th place)
Boys Mile-Cooper Teare St. Joseph Notre Dame 4:02.56 (2nd place)

If you were curious about other results, you can find them at this LINK.

World-Class Track and Field at Stanford, June 29th

Witness Track Town USA's new professional track and field series at Stanford’s Cobb Track and Angell Field on Thursday, June 29th. While the world class athletes compete for individual victories and team points, fans will be up front and center, close to the action on the infield and in the outside lanes, or track-side in the beer garden. Professional events are slated to begin at 6pm with the Men's and Women's Hammer, followed by the remaining field and running events at 7pm and concluding at 8:30pm.

TICKETS for all areas are $10 and may be purchased HERE  (sftracktown.eventbrite.com)

In addition to the professional events and an elite high school boys mile, you can PARTICIPATE in the action through these activities:

All-comers’ 400m, Mile and 100m: $10 entry into the all-comer’s events (starting at about 5pm) includes entry into the TrackTown Summer Series!

Open 4x400 and Community 8x400: Grab your friends and co-workers for a chance to race on the Stanford track!  Each participant will receive a tee shirt and a drink ticket for the trackside beer garden.

Kids’ Half-Lapper: The meet will conclude with a 200m (half-lap) race for kids 12-and-under where they will be cheered on by the pros! Pre-registered kids will receive FREE entry into the meet.

Volunteer: All volunteers will receive a tee shirt and free entry into the meet.

To register for the community events, or to volunteer, click HERE (sftracktown.eventbrite.com)