The varsity boys cross country won the Central Coast Sectionals (CCS) championship on Nov. 12, qualifying for the state championship cross Country coach Yohaness Estifanos said. The team was one of only two teams in the league that qualified for the state championships as a team, Estifanos said. This was the first time they qualified as a team for CCS in the team’s history, Estifanos said.
“The varsity boys had a historical five-team wins this season, including the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) league and CCS finals,” Estifanos said.
The championship took place at Crystal Springs and competitors needed to run the hilly, 2.95 mile course in order to qualify for the state championship, senior Alex Althouse said.
The team’s major rival in the race was Bellarmine College Preparatory, the fastest team in CCS prior to this year, Althouse said.
“We lined up on the line, and I remember that Bellarmine was right next to us,” Althouse said. “Their coach came up to them and said, ‘On your left is your competition,’ and he was pointing at us.”
The team did not actually perform their best at the CCS championships but took the title anyways, Althouse said.
“We were actually tied with them at the two-mile mark,” Althouse said, “But we ended up making up that ground with a lot of our guys passing their guys, allowing us to take the win by two points.”
Winning by two points is extremely close in cross country, said senior Koyo Kai. Since the point system is based on placements, winning by two points meant that the team’s victory was only off by a placement or two, Kai said.
One of their victories included the Farmer’s Invitational meet, hosted at Hayward High School, which was the team’s first win of the season, Althouse said.
“That was when the whole team realized that the effort we put in was showing,” Kai said, “Before that, we were just working, so we still weren’t sure if we were going to win anything from that.”
Going into the season, Althouse was confident about the team’s ability to qualify for states.
“On the ranking for the two-mile long races, we were second and we weren’t far behind from Bellarmine,” Althouse said, “That’s when we thought it was going to be possible.”
In order to prepare for the season, each individual on the team went through rigorous training throughout the summer, according to Kai. The summer practice was not organized by the coach, but by the individual members of the team.
“Going to states was a dream since our freshman year, so I think we all knew what we had to do to win CCS,” Kai said,
There were a lot of other changes made to the team’s practices during the normal season too, such as the frequency and intensity of practice Kai said.
“The amount we run has increased. It’s 60 miles a week constantly,” Kai said, “I think how we look at practices has also changed—we’re a lot more focused.”
Despite the amount of work they put in individually, a lot of the team’s success was due to Estifanos, Althouse said.
“He can keep up with us in all the workouts, and it’s really helpful to have someone be able to do that,” Althouse said, “I think he is the biggest reason we are as fast as we are now.”
The team’s success this season means a lot to Estifanos, who is now receiving his third CCS title, including his two prior wins as a student-athlete and now one as the coach of the team he was once a part of, Estinfanos said.
“The varsity boys have paved the way, showing how far we can go as a team with hard work and dedication,” Estifanos said.