MORGAN HILL After running to a first-place finish in the
B-division at the Blossom Valley Athletic League championship meet
at Crystal Springs in Belmont on Oct. 29, the Live Oak girls cross
country team will compete at the same locale in the Central Coast
Section meet tomorrow.
MORGAN HILL
After running to a first-place finish in the B-division at the Blossom Valley Athletic League championship meet at Crystal Springs in Belmont on Oct. 29, the Live Oak girls cross country team will compete at the same locale in the Central Coast Section meet tomorrow.
The lady Acorns surprised everyone, including themselves, with their first-place finish in the Santa Teresa Division, and the girls hope to set personal records in tomorrow’s meet.
Junior and No.1 for the lady Acorns Olivia Duran will be competing in CCS for the third consecutive year, and hopes to have her best appearance yet.
“My last CCS races haven’t been very good,” said the 16-year-old Duran. “I kind of let my emotions take over me, so this time I’ve been mentally preparing.”
Duran finished last week’s BVAL event in second place in the Santa Teresa Division, blazing through the 2.95-mile distance in 20:29.
“I’m physically prepared, but I need to stay positive,” she said. “Regardless if I am in the front or the back I can’t let myself feel defeated … I just have to stay positive and work my butt off.”
Duran doesn’t see Live Oak, as a team, finishing on top, but will rather benefit from CCS meet to improve the girls’ performance and athletic goals.
Junior and first-year runner Mary Luna improved her personal record by 10 seconds at the BVAL meet to finish fourth for the lady Acorns.
“It’s not as dramatic of an improvement, but I am very pleased with her efforts,” said Live Oak High School cross country coach Dean Raymond. “I appreciate how she’s been able to give a lot to her family and the team.”
Luna, 16, has recently coped with serious illnesses in her family, but has remained committed to the team, Raymond said.
“My very first meet I finished in like 28 minutes, but once I adjusted, it came a lot more naturally.” Luna said. “I have gained a lot of self confidence and I’ve progressed a lot.”
Luna usually finishes sixth (out of seven runners on the Live Oak team), but at the BVAL meet she jumped up two spots to finish in fourth place with a time of 23:17.
“I’m hoping to be able to finish in fourth again, and get a better time,” Luna said.
Raymond is extremely proud of his team that finished 5-2 in dual meets this season.
“Last week they trained harder, but this week we’re backing off a bit,” Raymond said of his team’s preparation for CCS.
On the boys side, sophomore Greg Wong and junior Matt Morgan are the only members of Live Oak’s boys cross country team to qualify for CCS.
Despite not qualifying for CCS as a team, program members, including senior Anthony Macadeg, are still coming out and helping their two teammates train.
At the BVAL championship meet Wong finished first for the Acorns with a time of 17:36, for a 16th place finish amongst 49 Division-B runners, and Morgan finished 22nd with a time of 18:04.
“I’m looking forward to another chance to PR,” Wong said. “I want to run in the 17:20s or better.”
This will be the first time that Wong or Morgan have run in CCS, but neither runner is nervous.
“I’m not psyched out at all,” Morgan said. “I’ve run Crystal Springs four times, and I like it because there’s not too many hard hills,” he said.
Morgan, 16, is shooting for a time in the low 17:00s.
This is Morgan’s second year on the cross country team.
“It’s an honor to be one of two guys on the team to represent Live Oak,” he said.
The Live Oak boys run at 10 a.m. and the girls run at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow in the Division III race at Crystal Springs in Belmont.
