The cross country season is coming to an end, and the Dons have evolved throughout the season.
At the third Peninsula Athletic League meet at Crystal Springs on Oct. 29, the varsity and freshman/sophomore teams competed.
The girls’ varsity team won first place out of 14 teams. Junior Niyati Reddy finished forteenth out of 76 runners, marking a season record at a time of 20 minutes and 35 seconds. Reddy, along with sophomores Claire Shintani and Caitlin Clark, set new personal records for themselves at that meet.
The boys’ varsity team was ranked third place, with junior Blaine Reynolds finishing the race first out of 111 runners.
During that meet, all teams collectively broke 24 new personal records in total, the most personal records broken in the season thus far.
In the first meet, the San Francisco/Lowell Invitational meet at Hellman Hollow, boys’ varsity ranked ninth out of 34 teams total, and the girls’ freshman/sophomore team ranked sixth out of 18 teams.
The team practices many types of drills to help them be able to withstand the long distances of the races.
“The track workouts really work on our speed since we sprint shorter distances with breaks in between, while the long distance runs improve our endurance,” Shintani said. “We also run hills which helps our endurance, too.”
To improve endurance, the team practices long runs outside of school grounds.
“Our off campus runs can be anywhere from 5-7 or more miles and our track workouts, which we do twice a week, consist of a lot of repetition of speed just around the track,” said sophomore Mary Torres. “To close out our practice, we run a half to three quarter mile cool down and do four 100 meter strides.”
However, with intense workouts as these, it’s important to relieve their muscles properly to reduce the possibility of strains in their legs.
“We try to make a point of stretching afterwards, too, so our legs don’t get injured as easily,” Torres said.
At the second Peninsula Athletic League Meet at Bedwell Bayfront Park, the girls’ varsity team was ranked second out of 15 teams, defeated only by Carlmont High. Reddy and sophomores Clark, Torres, Natalie Teng and Danielle Sipes all set personal records for themselves. Boys’ varsity also ranked second out of 12 teams at the same meet, losing only to Carlmont by 25 points. Out of 97 runners, Reynolds finished the race third.
The team still has several meets left this season, including the PAL Championships. If they are able to rank in the top eight, they move on to the Central Coast Selections. If they rank in the top three, they move on to the final meet of the season: the state finals meet. Coach Frank Hunt looks forward to these meets, although is slightly concerned for the girls’ team.
“[The boys] have a lot of potential, I’d like to say that they could make it to the state championship, they have an outside shot a lot good things have to happen,” said Hunt. “The girls are probably a year away, but they should do well at the Central Coast Section.”
The team is working towards their victories in their last meets of the season.
“We still have a few meets to go, but we’re hopeful that we’ll make CCS,” said junior Niyati Reddy.
The Dons’ next meet will be on Nov. 9, the PAL Championship Meet at Crystal Springs.
