CVHS cross country places third

On Nov. 4, both varsity teams finished third in their divisions at the WACC Cross Country Championships at Hayward High School. 

Boys varsity captain senior Lucas Chang finished first of the team, running the three mile course in 16:01.

“It was warm, so [our score] could’ve been better. I think a lot of people in our team weren’t able to perform at their best,” said Chang.

Senior Andrew Mitsuyoshi placed 11th in 16:53, finishing second in the team.

The boys varsity team placed third out of six total schools, tying with Berkeley for 75 points. 

Freshman Iliana Nierengarten was the first of the girls varsity team to finish at 18:47 in third place.

“I tried to just stay up with the lead pack for as long as I could, and after they kind of started to get a bit ahead of me I was just trying to keep up, at the pace I had and finish strong,” said Nierengarten.

Senior Alyssa Chen, girls varsity captain, followed in fourth place, second of the team, with 19:21.

“Honestly, the race was really difficult because [it was] really hot and humid and then there was a really big problem that came up during the last lap where I had a cramp,” said Chen. “But I still kept going for the team, the coaches, and for myself, as well.”

The girls varsity team had nearly identical results, also placing third out of six total schools, scoring 68 points.

The girls junior varsity placed first out of three total schools with 22 points, while the boys junior varsity team finished third out of six total schools, with a score of 76.

At 22:08, senior Lauren Siopack finished first of girls junior varsity team, placing second. Then junior Braelyn Bolles placed fifth at 23:05, followed by Vera Beck finishing in 23:57 in seventh place. 

Junior Nathan Quinby placed ninth with 18:33, first to finish from boys junior varsity team. Juniors Isaiah Yeh and Mateo Camarena finished subsequently at 18:45 and 18:49 minutes respectively.

The last local major meet of the season will be on Nov. 18 for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) North Coast Section Championship. Afterwards, qualified runners will participate in the CIF State Cross Country Championships.