Cross Country gains momentum late in season

The Palo Alto boys’ and girls’ cross country teams have picked up momentum leading into the Central Coast Section (CCS) Championship.

Junior Katie Foug thinks that the varsity cross country teams can carry their recent success into the CCS Championship.

“We’ve been resting some of our top runners because the varsity team has had a lot of injuries,” Foug said. “We’ve been saving up for this race a little more. It’s one of the more important races of the season.”

Both teams competed well at the Monterey Bay Invitational on Oct. 18. The boys’ team took second place out of ten, losing only to Wilcox High School. Junior Lucas Matison and freshman Kent Slaney took first and third place, respectively.

The girls’ team found similar success placing third, with rival Gunn High School finishing first. Sophomore Bryn Carlson finished fifth overall and Foug ninth.

Success at the Monterey Invitational carried over for the boys’ team at the third and final SCVAL meet, as they finished third overall. Matison once again led the way for the boys with a second overall finish.  He was followed by Slaney and junior Aaron Chandler, who finished 11th and 31st, respectively.

The girls’ team did not fare as well, but still placed sixth overall. Carlson and Foug were once again the top Paly finishers, placing sixth and 21st overall respectively.

Both boys’ and girls’ teams took second at the City Championship at Gunn High School on Oct. 29.  The boys’ lost to Gunn 21–28, but placed the top two runners. Mattison and Slaney continued their success by placing first and second, respectively.

The girls’ also lost to Gunn by a score of 21–48, but beat out Castilleja for second place. Carlson claimed second place overall for the Lady Vikes with a time of 12:28.5.

“We’ve been getting progressively better, I think it’s just an accumulation of harder workouts and the team just getting more focused as the season is coming to an end,” Foug said.

The Vikings’ next meet is the CCS Championship on Nov. 16 at Crystal Springs High School.  This is the final meet before the State Championship on Nov. 30.