On Saturday, Nov. 22 the North Coast Section (NCS) Cross Country meet was held at Hayward High School. The winners at that meet determined the runner who would continue on to the Cross Country State Championships.
From the Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL) five individuals qualified for State. The runners included Isaac Luong of Kennedy High School; Anish Gopisetty of Washington High School; Santiago Henriquez of Moreau Catholic and a duo from Newark Memorial, Kenji Kawabata and Alice McCarty.
The CIF Cross Country State Championship was held on Saturday, Nov. 29 at Woodland Park in Fresno.
Photos by Todd Tokubo
Photos by Todd Tokubo
Among the boys’ three-mile race, Newark Memorial’s senior Kenji Kawabata got a 16:04.1 time, making his average mile time 5:10. Close behind Kawabata came another senior, Isaac Luong of Kennedy, with 16:04.7. An incredibly close time between the MVAL athletes.
Representing Moreau Catholic, Santiago Hernandez completed his race at 16:15.4 placing him on the 64th spot in the D4 boys’ race. With an average mile time of 5:13.6, Hernandez is the youngest runner to have qualified for the State Championship from the MVAL group, giving him a good chance at returning to State in the next two years.
In the division two race, Anish Gopisetty, a junior of Washington High School, crossed the finish line at 16:42.5, giving him an average mile time of 5:22.3.
The only girl to qualify for State from the Mission Valley League was Alice McCarty. Racing in the division three girls’ group, the Newark Memorial senior completed her race with a time of 18:47.9 and an average mile time of 6:02.6.
Want to let you know that my daughter Elliotte Shin a freshman from Impact Academy in Hayward also went to State as a freshman. Even though she ran for BACSAC which are the charter schools where she got 1st place and 7th overall in the OAL League is born and raised from Hayward.