The Monte Vista Invitational - Home of the Eliminator!

The Mustangs were ready for the 3 mile Newhall Park course today, and when the gun went off, all six squads raced with passion and confidence.   On the day, the team won 3 of the 6 races, took second in 2 others, and a close third in the other one.  The coaches were hard pressed to remember a better day in league competition!.  

So lets look closer at the races:

Boys Frosh Soph
Up first, the FS Boys set the tone as the team took second to Granada to record their highest finish in years.  In fact, the squad was in first place midway through the race - just not quite able to hold back the top GHS runners through the finish.  Soph Danny Maguire paced the squad today, finishing 7th overall.   The rest of the scoring team were:  Soph Cade Hammond, Frosh Matthew Kim, Soph Sam George and Frosh Sam Milham as the 5th scorer.   Rounding out the top 7 were:  Soph Josh Elliot and Frosh Kian Elahi.

Girls Frosh Soph
The girls continued their dominance of the FS race in recent years by taking first place with a score of 38 points.  San Ramon Valley was second with 64 points.  With three Frosh/Soph already running varsity, the team had more than enough depth today.   Frosh Sidney Isom is 2nd overall, while teammates So Megan Bjeldane and Fr Melanie Kim also in the top ten.  Frosh Holly Meineke and Lillian O'Keefe round out the scoring in 12th and 13th place.  Yes, that's all five in by 13th place!  Sophs Natalie Couture and Angelina Stroud are 6th and 7th for the team, finishing in 14th and 23rd place.  Way to go team!

Boys JV Race
The JV boys looked to be in trouble today, with their top runner promoted to varsity and several other seniors out with injury.   Still others were coming back from injury with limited training.  So of course, the squad steps up today, turning in a strong 3rd place performance - just 3 pts behind 2nd place De La Salle.  Senior Anthony Rocha runs strong up front, hanging on to 4th place overall and first for the team.  Sr Will Jones is second man, running in only his second race of the year.   The rest of the Mustang scoring team:  Jr James Toyofuku, Jr Michael Gareau and Jr Connor Chamberlain.   Fellow Juniors Nate Curran and Tyler Matthiesen round out the top seven. 

Girls JV Race
Despite being shorthanded due to some untimely injuries, the Mustang JV Girls squad were ready to take on all league challengers.  Right from the start - red uniforms dominated the front as Juniors  Cat Kiser, Paige Moldenhauer, Cheyenne Friesen and Carly Norhold ran in the top 10.  Cat would go on to win the race in 21:07!   Paige had 2nd place nailed down until a wrong turn in the last 1/2 mile dropped her back to 6th, as Cheyenne roared past to finish 3rd overall.  Carli was 8th today, fourth for the team.   Sr Kacy Hussey was fifth for the team in 20th place, while Jr Isabella Chao and Sr Elise Norrid were 6th and 7th.   In the end, the team just missed first, taking second to Amador Valley 34-38.  So close!