IF YOU'VE BEEN following the local high school cross country scene this month, you know that Carondelet and Nicole Hood have been dominant.

You know that Acalanes' Nate Beach gave North Coast Section and state competitors something to think about with his victory at the De La Salle/Carondelet Nike Invitational. You probably know that St. Mary's Matt Duffy already has victories at the Ed Sias Invitational and Iolani Invitational in Hawaii on Saturday.

But what about some team performances that might be more under the radar? Here are a couple of them:

  • The Amador Valley boys team opened more than a few eyes when it finished second at the DLS/CHS Nike Invitational to a highly regarded Petaluma squad. The Dons beat a red-hot Skyline squad and perennial powers De La Salle and San Ramon Valley on Sept. 15.

    "It was our first three-mile race. They looked strong. They are hungry, and they can do some neat things this year," Amador Valley coach Peter Scarpelli said about his squad. "I look forward to seeing where this journey goes."

    On Saturday, the Dons placed sixth in the sweepstakes race of the Pepperdine Invitational.

    Scarpelli has preached pack running to his team, and his top five runners have finished with less than a 55-second gap at both the Nike and Pepperdine invitationals.

    The Dons have one senior in their top five, and it's their No. 1 runner, Shawn Daut. There are three juniors in the top five (Garrett Ward, Mike Marlin and Brett Hornig) and one sophomore (Kellen Cole).

    One of the team's goals is an East Bay Athletic League title, which would be quite an accomplishment for the program. The boys team has not won a league title in 10 years. The squad also would like to finish in the top two at the NCS championship meet in the Division I race.

    But both those championship meets are more than a month away. Scarpelli wants his team to focus on the task at hand.

    "We'll try not to get caught up (in the early success)," he said. "(The De La Salle/Carondelet Invitational was) a good confidence builder, but we have to keep to task."

     

  • The St. Mary's girls program has become known for producing outstanding individuals such as Bridget Duffy and Gabriela Rios-Sotelo. But this season, the entire team is dangerous.

    On Saturday, St. Mary's placed third at the Iolani Invitational. One of the two teams ahead of the Panthers was Redlands, which is ranked third in the most recent Nike Team National's California rankings.

    "They get along really well with each other, and they push each other. They work really hard," said St. Mary's girls coach Denis Mohun about his squad. "For the 20 years I have been coaching, this is the most exciting and fun group I've worked with."

    The Panthers are young, with three sophomores in their top seven and only one senior.

    "Last year they ran fairly well and were introduced to the sport," said Mohun about his team, which competed in the California Interscholastic Federation Division IV state championship race last season. "The whole core of them clicked last year."

    The gap between the Panthers' top four runners at the Iolani Invitational (sophomores Alex Choy and Taylor Lawson and juniors Margot Sullivan and Alice Baker) was just 45 seconds. Mohun would love to see that pack time tighten Saturday at the Stanford Invitational Division IV race.

    "We're still under the radar because we still haven't proven anything. We still have a lot of work to do," Mohun said.

    STANFORD: Besides the Panthers, many other local teams will travel across the Bay on Saturday for the Stanford Invitational. There are high school races for each division, as well as seeded races. The first race is the Division V boys race at 9:46 a.m. Collegiate races start at 4:15 p.m.

    The Fall Notebook covers a different high school sport each week. Contact Phil Jensen at pjensen@bayareanewsgroup.com.