NCS Championships
Hayward High School
Hayward CA
Saturday, November 22, 2014

RESULTS AT BOTTOM OF PAGE

Boys, Girls Endure Bent Rain, Sloppy Footing to Dominate NCS Championships

In conditions worse than those experienced at the disastrous North Coast Section championships of 2012, both the boys' and girls' varsity squads reigned supreme at Saturday's affair on the Hayward High School 3.0 mile course.

Racing through gusty wind and relentless rain, the boys pack churned out another steady effort, finding a place among the top 20 in the first mile before closing surprisingly well.

Kevin Buckley (15) sparked the mid-race surge, towing Jared Yabu (17) and Parker Lothamer (15) across the muck and into the top 12. Nathaniel Sauerberg (16) also showed life in the final stages of the race, closing the gap on his teammates to help Campolindo collect the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th places across the finish line.

Jonathan Semenza (16) held off a hard charging Richard Gong (17) as the two were awarded the same time in 15th and 16th place, respectively.

Miguel Baliwag (16) made a critical move in the middle mile to catch Bishop O'Dowd's 5th man, adding a point to the narrow margin between the rival teams.

The boys' 57 point total was 11 points ahead of the Dragons and ensured the Cougar cross country program's 21st NCS title.

The 22nd section championship came just an hour later as the girls' squad used a commanding start and relentless hoarding of top 10 places to squeeze the life out of their competitors.

In fact, the girls featured 5 of the top 10 finishers, and 7 of the top 15.

After 3 brutal miles battling the elements as much as the competition, Toni Finnane (12), Brighie Leach (12) and Mary Orders (12) were evenly spaced, breaking the tape in 2nd, 3rd and 4th place.

Jenna Miles (18) ran a well paced 1st mile, shoulder to shoulder with teammate Hana Sun (16), before hitting the gas. The duo overtook several places through the 1st grass loop before heading up the incline for the 1st time. Miles eventually broke away to pick up 7th place. Sun held on for 10th.

While the conditions make historical time comparisons dubious, looking at how the Cougars rate against the rest of the day's races, some of which enjoyed far less wind and rain, suggests that this was a day worthy of legend.

In the merge of results from all 5 divisions, both the boys and girls come out ahead by a considerable margin.

The girls' individual times were among the best of the entire day, with Finnane, Leach and Orders earning All-Section 1st Team honors and Miles landing a spot on the All-Section 2nd squad.

Sun's mark was good enough for the All-Section 3rd team.

The girls' squad also featured the meet's best #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 and #7 runners. Sarah Cella (16) and Rachel Johnson (15), the Cougars 6th and 7th finishers, beat every other team's #4 runner.

The boys' strength continued to be their tight pack margin, which was 29 seconds from 1 through 5. They also had the meet's best #4, #5, #6 and #7 finishers.

COMPLETE MEET RESULTS, INCLUDING MERGED RESULTS OF ALL RACES, ARE HERE!

CHECK OUT THE HAYWARD HIGH SCHOOL SCHOOL RECORD TOP 25 LIST HERE!

CHECK OUT COMPLETE MEET STATISTICS FOR ALL NCS DIVISIONS ON XCSTATS.COM HERE!

MORE PHOTOS OF NCS FROM STEVE LEACH HERE!

ERIC YABU'S FACEBOOK ALBUM OF NCE PICS ARE HERE!

BOYS' VARSITY
Grd TOTAL PR CR Plc.
PARKER LOTHAMER 12 1617 9
KEVIN BUCKLEY 12 1618 10
JARED YABU 10 1619 11
NATHANIEL SAUERBERG 11 1624 12
JONATHAN SEMENZA 11 1646 15
RICHARD GONG 10 1646 16
MIGUEL BALIWAG 11 1709 31

Campolido 57, Bishop O'Dowd 68, Las Lomas 75, Miramonte 107, Acalanes 187, Analy 201, Alhambra 242, Novato 262, Tamalpais 273, Concord 297, JFK 297, Petaluma 324, Eureka 345, El Cerrito 417, Rancho Cotate 434, Encinal 442, Ygnacio Valley 486, De Anza 595

GIRLS' VARSITY
Grd TOTAL PR CR Plc.
TONI FINANNE 12 1745 2
BRIGHIE LEACH 12 1805 3
MARY ORDERS 12 1829 4
JENNA MILES 9 1841 7
HANA SUN 11 1848 10
SARAH CELLA 11 1915 14
RACHEL JOHNSON 12 1928 15

Campolindo 26, Bishop O'Dowd 62, Tamalpais 100, Las Lomas 113, Miramonte 148, Petaluma 165, Albany 237, Acalanes 260, Sonoma Valley 260, El Cerrito 265, Novato 265, Alhambra 299, Analy 327, Rancho Cotate 424, Encinal 430

Girls' 1st team All-NCS
Toni Finnane
Brighie Leach
Mary Orders

Girls' 2nd team All-NCS
Jenna Miles

Girls' 3rd team All-NCS
Hana Sun