Cross country runners race to state meet

Eight CVHS cross country runners qualified to compete in the CIF State Cross Country Championships on Nov. 25. The varsity girls team qualified together while senior Lucas Chang from the varsity boys team qualified individually.

Chang ran three miles in 16:18 at the NCS Championships at Hayward High School on Nov. 18, finishing seventh. 

Led by Alyssa Chen, Maya Dughi and Anna Dughi, the girls team placed second at NCS to finish second with 64 points, behind rival Berkeley. 

Chang started running as a freshman to condition for soccer but quickly fell in love with running. “By the end of sophomore year, I was in love with running, so I actually quit soccer to commit to track and field,” he said. 

Even now Chang still doesn’t “regret quitting soccer at all. Sometimes I miss it, but cross country has been super fun.” 

Since freshman year, Chang has dedicated himself to improving his running and time in cross country. “Practices are five days a week… and I do a lot more workouts on my own or with some of my friends outside of school,’’ said Chang.

Weekend practices for Chang are, “up to nine or ten miles. And our favorite place to run is Lake Chabot. Sometimes we’ll run the entire lake loop around Lake Chabot.”    

Chang credits part of his success to the “super-supportive” coaches and team, calling it “the best sports team I have ever been on… like a family.”

All of this work and support has led Chang to improve his time by over two minutes from freshman year to senior year. 

As this was his last chance to qualify and go far in NCS and state championships, Chang is very happy with his improvements and performance. 

At the state meet in Fresno, Chang ran 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) in 16:06, finishing in the top half of the fast race. 

Chang said that it was “super exciting” for all runners to see the girls qualify as a team. Freshman Iliana Nierengarten led the Trojans in 19:39, followed by Chen and the Dughi sisters, Abigail Choy, Hannah Murry and Mika Gomes.

Chang and the girls cross country team achieved major success this year in qualifying for the state meet and hope to continue this momentum during track season next spring.