Morgan Hill – As the cross-country season winds down toward the
Blossom Valley Athletic League and Central Coast Section
championships, the Live Oak boys and girls cross country teams
continue to improve. Competing in their final
Morgan Hill – As the cross-country season winds down toward the Blossom Valley Athletic League and Central Coast Section championships, the Live Oak boys and girls cross country teams continue to improve.
Competing in their final dual-league meet against Oak Grove on Monday at Montgomery Hill in Gilroy, the girls squeezed out a 28-27 win while the boys barely lost 27-28.
All five of the Lady Acorn runners improved their personal records.
Junior Olivia Durant was the top runner for the Lady Acorns as she improved her personal record (PR) by 20 seconds for the course finishing second overall in 19:25.00.
Sophomore Pauline Olsen also had a good showing finishing fourth overall in 20:03.00, improving her personal record by 47 seconds.
Sophomore Renee Dominguez improved her PR by 36 seconds with a 21:10.00 finish, freshman Chelsie Faulk improved her PR by 54 seconds with a 23:1600 finish, and sophomore Emily Mandel made the biggest improvement for the Acorns with 23:22.00 finish smashing her personal record by 1:15.
“There’s just a real dedication and commitment, particularly to training in the hills,” head coach Dean Raymond said. “It’s different than track, and I think the hill training is paying off.”
Raymond attributes the girls’ win to their realization of the importance of the meet.
“They ran courageously … all five of them,” he said.
On the boys side, Raymond said it was a disappointing loss.
One of the Live Oak runners had an asthma attack, another sprained his knee, and a third runner has a heart condition that kept him from running his best.
“I won’t say they didn’t run courageously,” Raymond said. “The healthy ones ran great and I’m excited for them.”
Four of the seven boys improved their personal records.
Junior Matt Morgan was the first Acorn to break the 17-minute mark this season, finishing the event in 16:42.00 and improving his personal record by 41 seconds.
Sophomore Greg Wong was close behind finishing in 17:01, improving his personal record by 38 seconds.
“He is so close” to breaking thee 17:00 mark, Raymond said.
Junior Anthony Macadeg improved his PR by 19 seconds with a a 17:23 finish, and sophomore Trevor Watson, who suffered an asthma attack during the race, finished in 17:50.
“His best is 17:34 so his time isn’t bad considering his physical condition,” Raymond said.
Sophomore Xavier Gonzales finished in 18:04, shattering his PR by 53 seconds.
“He ran some varsity last year as a freshman, but he has struggled somewhat this year and I’m hoping this was his breakthrough race,” Raymond said.
Junior Corey Mailloux finished in 18:50, four seconds off his PR, despite suffering a sprained knee, which Live Oak trainer Jeff Roberts checked out on Wednesday.
“He’s walking on it but I’m not really having him run,” Raymond said. “He just twisted it coming down one of the hills … It’s a non-contact sport but you can still get injured.”
Armando Rodriguez, the lone senior on the entire team, finished in 19:24.
Rodriguez suffers a heart condition, but is cleared to run and compete on the cross country team.
On the frosh-soph level, freshman Adam Groen finished the same course and same distance in 17:41, which would have placed him fourth on the varsity level.
“He ran it like he was on varsity,” Raymond said. “Hopefully that was his breakthrough race because he improved his personal best by 1:08 … before it was 18:49.”
Raymond said there is a possibility of bringing Groen up to varsity for the BVAL championships, but needs to talk to his parents, weigh a number of variables, and see how other things develop before making a decision.
