Varsity Squads Open at Half Moon Bay Boys Place 9th in First League Meet, Girls Place 10th September 09, 2010 Under perfect conditions at Half Moon Bay High School, the Sequoia Cross Country varsity teams opened the season with a tremendous statement: a standard of success is the precedent for the 2010 campaign. In the boys race, senior Danny Raggio and junior Manny Avila led the team with times of 13:50 and 13:54 respectively for the 2.33 mile course. These times were not only both personal bests for the top varsity runners, but were both under a six minute mile average. Junior Kevin Hill followed closely, finishing third on the team with a personal best of 14:16. Top 1600 meter runner Philip Barron completed his first cross country race in 14:42 to finish fourth, while juniors Chris McCreddin and Jesse Boyle rounded out the varsity squad with times of 15:02 and 16:07. The boys placed 9th as a team out of 17 league schools, a record high for the program in recent years a spot which would qualify them for CCS under championship conditions. The girls team ran equally well. Top returning sophomore Gaia Bouchard-Hall ran the 11th fastest time for a varsity girl with her time of 16:12, an improvement of over one minute 40 seconds on this same course from the previous year. Freshman Theda Knauth finished next on the team with a time of 17:24, while junior Latetia Chatelain, sophomore Sherry Sanders and senior Natalia Murillo completed the varsity team. The girls finished 10th out of 17 league schools, the highest finish for the team against league opponents in over 20 years. The teams will re-group in a short week to run in the Earlybird Invitational on Saturday, September 11th.

Teams Continue Success at Earlybird Invitational Sequoia Sends Two Squads to Toro Park September 11, 2010 At the Earlybird Invitational hosted by North Monterey County High School the girls sophomore team and the boys senior team competed against a large field of 56 schools. Both squads continued to push the envelope and bring early-season success on the 2.97 mile course. In the boys senior race, junior Manny Avila and senior Danny Raggio again led the team for the second time in three days with times of 18:17 and 18:20. These times were once again personal bests for the top varsity runners, and were right around a 6-minute mile average. Junior Kevin Hill was the third finisher once again, with a time of 19:06. Philip Barron finished fourth just ahead of freshman Tynan Dewes, who completed the course in a great time of 20:09 in his first high school race. Juniors Chris McCreddin and Jesse Boyle rounded out the senior squad with times of 20:20 and 22:06. The boys once again placed 9th as a team, this time out of 21 schools, many of whom represented the sections best. The girls sophomore team also competed and finished a respectable 12th out of 20 teams. Sophomore Gaia Bouchard-Hall once again led the sequoia ladies with a 22nd overall finish for a sophomore girl with her time of 21:28. Freshman Zoe Kriegler-Wenk finished second for the team with a time of 22:51. Freshman Theda Knauth finished next on the team with a time of 23:43, making them both the top finishing freshmen for the sophomore race. Sophomores Alex Bliss, Sherry Sanders, Frances Mylod-Vargos and Alyssa Bliss completed the girls squad. The Bliss twins ran admirably in their first race, while Mylod-Vargos ran a respectable 26:15 in her first high school cross country race. The full Sequoia teams will compete in a week on Saturday, September 18th at the Lowell High Invitational at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

Seasons Best at Lowell Invitational Avila Breaks 17:00, Bouchard-Hall Finishes 2nd Overall September 18, 2010 On a foggy day at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco the Sequoia Cross Country squads continued to find success at the Lowell Invitational. Top boys varsity runners lowered their times for the third meet in a row, while top girl Gaia Bouchard-Hall finished second overall in the junior varsity girls race. The young women for the Sequoia team lowered their team average despite not running three of their top athletes. The boys also debuted their freshman and sophomore squads, with many personal bests for their first meet of the season.

The story of the day went to top sophomore girl Gaia Bouchard-Hall, who in her third race this season ran her fastest time yet with a 20:11 showing for the 2.93 mile course. Bouchard-Hall averaged an impressive 6:54 per mile for the race, while battling the third place finisher for a majority of the course before finishing ahead by three seconds. The rest of the girls team ran extremely well, with junior Laetitia Chatelain finishing second for the team with a time of 23:32, while sophomores Alex Bliss, Frances Mylod-Vargos and Alyssa Bliss followed suit for the JV race. Mylod-Vargos and the Bliss twins all finished with faster times than a week before, with all three finishing under 8:30 mile pace for the contest. The girls finished 9th as a team, with senior Natalia Murillo and sophomore Kimberly Preston rounding out the squad.

The freshman boys team got to a fantastic start to the season with a 12th place finish out of 18 schools. Freshman Tynan Dewes ran the 2.13 course in 13:38, the top time for all fresh/soph runners on the team. Runners Chris Hunter and Alex Lazich followed in second and third with times of 15:02 and 15:10 respectively. Cole Dunbar and Jaquel Campbel rounded out the squad when they battled down the stretch and finished one second apart in 15:40 and 15:41.

For the sophomores, leading finisher Carlos Zepeda finished with a time of 14:04 in his first race of

the year while Alex Valencia finished in second for the team only 25 seconds behind. Aaron Jacobson, Julian OHara and Shahil Sharma rounded out the scoring members while the sophomores finished with a 12th place finish.

The boys varsity team was once again led by junior Manny

Avila, who ran for a season-best time of 16:54 for the 2.93 mile course. This time came to a 5:46 mile pace. Senior Danny Raggio finished just behind with a time of 17:14, which was also under six minute mile pace. Juniors Kevin Hill and Chris McCreddin rounded out the third and fourth positions, Hill running a faster time than last week and McCreddin taking significant time off of his season best, while sophomore Warren Van Velkinberg was the fifth scoring member of the team with a great time of 19:35. Junior Danny Gallegos rounded out the squad in his first cross country race. The team finished in 13th place with a competitive field yet lowered its cumulative time by five minutes as a group.

The full Sequoia squad will race again next week, Saturday

September 25th at the Westmoor Ram Invitational in Daly City. Races begin at 9:00am.

Medals Abound at Westmoor Ram Invite Improvement Continues for Girls Team, Younger Athletes Despite Heat September 25, 2010 In what came to be an unseasonably hot day in Daly City, the Sequoia Cross Country Teams continued to run fast times and took an unprecedented 8 medals from the 2.42 mile contest at Westmoor High School. Sophomore Gaia Bouchard-Hall led the girls team with an 8th place overall finish for fresh-soph. This is the fourth straight race Bouchard-Hall has finished first for the girls. Up-and-coming sophomore Carlos Zepeda led the boys fresh-soph team in 15:59 while junior standout Manny Avila finished first for the varsity boys for the third time this season in a blazing 14:50. As the day progressed, the conditions became more and more unfavorable. The varsity boys in the final race of the day had to race under especially hot and dry circumstances. The boys finished as a team in 14th place out of 28 teams. Led by Manny Avila who won a medal for his efforts, senior Danny Raggio finished closely behind in 15:13. Junior Phil Barron finished in third for the team under 16 minutes and sophomore Warren Van Velkinberg and junior Jesse Boyle rounded out the scoring for Sequoia. Juniors Danny Gallegos and Nick Blanck also finished for the varsity team in sixth and seventh spots respectively. The boys fresh-soph team continued to improve in leaps and bounds with leading sophomore Carlos Zepeda finishing first for the team in 15:59. Freshman Ty Dewes followed closely behind only 18 seconds later. Both Zepeda and Dewes earned medals for their performances. Freshmen Alex Lazich and Jaquel Campbel finished third and fourth for the team while sophomore Aaron Jacobson rounded out the scoring. Freshman Cole Dunbar and sophomore Julian O Hara also competed admirably to complete the team.

The girls team was the first to start off the day for Sequoia, which fielded a group composed of sophomores Gaia Bouchard-Hall, Sherry Sanders, Alex and Alyssa Bliss and Frances Mylod-Vargos and freshmen Zoe Kriegler-Wenk and Theda Knauth. This fresh-soph team was in addition to a JV team composed of Laetitia Chatelain, Natalia Murillo and Kim Preston. The top five girls who competed all came away with medals, driving the team total to 8 for the day. In addition to Bouchard-Halls performance of 17:45, the rest of the girls also showed signs of improvement. The freshman duo of Zoe Kriegler-Wenk and Theda Knauth came in second and third for the team, while sophomores Sherry Sanders, Alex Bliss, Frances Mylod-Vargos and Alyssa Bliss rounded out the team all finished under 50th position for the race. Junior Laetita Chatelain ran the 5th fastest time for the girls team while competing at the junior varsity level, while senior Natalia Murillo and sophomore Kim Preston also rounded out the squad.

Sequoia will race again next week, Saturday October 2nd at the Half Moon Bay Artichoke

Invitational in Half Moon Bay. The school will compete in the large school afternoon session.

Teams Hit Next Level at Artichoke Invite Over 21 Athletes Run Personal Bests, Young Talent Continues to Impress October 2, 2010

Occasionally for a team, vast improvements are made on the same day: reinforcing the gains made in training and representing a turning point in the season. On Saturday October 2, the Sequoia Cross Country teams once again demonstrated that the best is yet to come and that by continuing to give a complete effort great results can be made.

On Saturday, 21 athletes ran significant personal bests over previous course times at Half Moon Bay or improved from earlier races this season. Individual improvements where supplemented by team improvements as well, with the freshman boys team finishing 5th overall, and the fresh/soph girls finishing 8th out of 14 while resting three key contributors.

Starting with the freshmen boys, leader Tynan Dewes once again medaled with his performance of 14:27, a 6:12 mile average for the 2.33 mile course (an improvement of 22 seconds per mile from the previous week). Classmate Chris Hunter followed closely behind with a time of 15:38 (a 6:43 mile average) with Alex Lazich finishing in third, 14 seconds later with a mile average of 6:49. For Hunter and Lazich, this marks the first time this season that their mile averages for any course have dropped beneath seven minutes per mile, when both ran times under 6:50 per mile. Jaquel Campbel and Cole Dunbar, the final scoring members of the team were also close to breaking the 7:00 minute mile average barrier with their times of 16:17 and 16:26. Sixth on the team, Shahil Sharma also improved considerably.

The fresh/soph girls team also continued to progress with their performances on Saturday. Freshman standout Zoe Kriegler-Wenk led the team with a time of 16:39, finishing 21st overall. This time was only 27 seconds slower than sophomore Gaia Bouchard-Hall's top time this season at Half Moon Bay, not bad for Kriegler-Wenk's first race at this course. Sophomore Sherry Sanders finished second on the

team with a time of 17:40, a one minute 40 second improvement from her time here earlier this season. Sisters Alex and Alyssa Bliss finished next on the team with times of 17:53 and 18:50... continuing improvement in every race so far. Sophomore Kimberly Preston rounded out the scoring for the girls with a two minute per mile improvement from her time the week before.

Junior Laetitia Chatelain and senior Natalia Murillo competed in the varsity division where Chatelain improved her time at Half Moon Bay by nearly a minute from her performance earlier in the year.

For the sophomore boys, Carlos Zepeda once again led the way with a time of 15:00 exactly. Classmate Alex Valencia finished 44 seconds later in second for the team, while the trio of Aaron Jacobson, Julian O'Hara and Matt Maldonado rounded out the scoring for the team. Each of the sophomores improved their mile averages for the season with their performances.

The varsity boys rested two of their stars yet still demonstrated some remarkable performances. Junior's Phil Barron and Chris McCreddin improved considerably from their times at Half Moon Bay earlier in the year, with Barron running 13:53 and McCreddin running 14:22. These times power Phil and Chris under the six minute per mile average for the course. Sophomore Warren Van Velkinburgh finished third for the team in 14:53, while veterans Kevin Hill, Danny Gallegos, Jesse Boyle and Nick Blanck all finished for the team. Gallegos and Blanck both improved their mile averages by over a minute. The team managed to finish in 16th place out of 21 competing schools.

The teams compete next in the second league meet of the season, and their first race at Crystal Springs when they race on Tuesday October 5th. Races begin at 3:00pm.

Records Fall at Second League Meet Sequoia Runs into the Record-Books with Top Times on Both Sides October 5, 2010 Since 1982 only one Sequoia athlete has run a faster time than the standout varsity duo of Manny Avila and Danny Raggio, who on Tuesday ran into the record books with their 20th overall and 30th overall finishes in the second of three league races. Junior Manny Avila, who qualified for CCS last season with a time of 17:47, made a serious statement by clocking 17:05 at Crystal Springs, a 5:47 mile average. In addition to powering to a top twenty finish out of 17 varsity teams and a field of over 112 runners, he placed 30th overall in Sequoia program history at Crystal Springs with his time. Hot on his heals was senior Danny Raggio, who not only broke the 18 minute barrier for the first time in his life, but ran 17:20, the 40th fastest time in program history at Crystal. Danny opened the course with a blazing 5:17 mile. Both runners finished well ahead of their first league performance and set personal bests with their achievement.

To round out the varsity boys team, which finished 8th out of 17 schools, were juniors Phil Barron in a time of 18:47, and Chris McCreddin in a time of 19:09. Junior Kevin Hill finished 21 seconds later, and freshman Ty Dewes broke the 20 minute barrier in his varsity debut. Jesse Boyle rounded out the varsity squad.

For the varsity girls, sophomore Gaia Bouchard-Hall ran a personal best time of 20:40, good enough for 11th overall out of all league schools. This time is not only her first sub-21 minute performance, but puts her 13th overall all-time for Sequoia female performances at Crystal Springs. Freshman Zoe Kriegler-Wenk finished second for the girls in a time of 22:03, the 28th fastest time ever for a Sequoia runner. Sophomore Sherry Sanders, freshman Theda Knauth, junior Laetetia Chatelain and senior Natalia Murillo all rounded out the scoring for the girls team. For the duo of Bouchard-Hall and Kriegler-Wenk these performances are the fastest times run by two Sequoia girls in the same race at Crystal Springs in program history. The girls finished 10th overall, only 11 points out of 8th place.

For the boys fresh/soph team, sophomores Carlos Zepeda and Warren Van Velkinburgh led the way, with times of 19:10 and 19:17 respectively. These times were the 5th and 6th fastest times run at Crystal by a Sequoia athlete on the day. They were followed closely by Alex Valencia, Chris Hunter and Aaron Jacobson who all ran 21 minutes or better for the race. Alex Lazich and Jacob Toms rounded out the scoring for the team, which finished a surprising 7th overall.

For the open girls race, twins Alex and Alyssa Bliss were once again accompanied by sophomore Frances Mylod-Vargos, who along with Summer Toms and Kim Preston, finished 7th as a team out of all league schools. Alex Blisss time of 23:52 was the 4th fastest by a Sequoia girl on the day, and adds tremendous depth to an already fast, young squad.

In the boys open race, top finishers Jaquel Campbel and Danny Gallegos led a team gearing up for

even more improvement this season. Runners Julian OHara, Cole Dunbar, Matt Maldonado, Nick Blanck and Shahil Sharma scored 10th out of 17 schools for Sequoia, which finished the day with 2 10th place finishes, 1 8th place finish and 2 7th place finishes on the day out of 17 schools present. A decisive improvement from a year ago, finishing 13th, and a definite improvement over 2008, when Sequoia ran incomplete in 4 out of 5 divisions.

The full Sequoia teams race again at the first Center Meet at Crystal Springs, Thursday October 14, at 3:00pm.

First Overall Amidst Records Set! Bouchard-Hall Wins Fresh-Soph Race, Varsity Boys Compete at Toro October 16, 2010

In hot and humid conditions, it was sophomore Gaia Bouchard-Hall who ran clear away from the competition. On Thursday, October 14, Bouchard-Hall was the uncontested winner of the girls fresh-soph race which featured a fourth place finish by the girls team as a group, and proved to be the first overall victory for Sequoia's number one female runner. Bouchard-Hall finished in 20:53, the 17th fastest time in program history, and a full 80 seconds faster than her nearest competitor. Running in front from the very start, Bouchard-Hall displayed tremendous consistency: distancing herself 30 seconds ahead, crossing the mile in 6:30, a full minute ahead by the two-mile mark in 13:30 and finishing 80 seconds ahead by the conclusion of the race. Her performance would have won her the varsity race had she competed in that category. Teammate Sherry Sanders finished second for Sequoia and 11th overall, with runners Theda Knauth, Frances Mylod-Vargos, and Summer Toms rounding out the squad.

The boys competed on Thursday

without a varsity squad, with juniors Phil Barron and Kevin Hill leading the way with times rivaling their season bests. Barron finishing 5th and Hill finishing 11th overall catapulted the junior varsity team to a 5th overall team finish. They were supplemented by freshman Chris Hunter who ran a personal best in 20:21, with sophomore Alex Valencia and junior Danny Gallegos rounding out the squad.

The boys fresh-soph group also finished admirably, with sophomores Julian O'Hara, Aaron Jacobson and Jacob Toms finishing in scoring position. Freshman Cole Dunbar and sophomore Matt Maldonado rounded out the team.

The Sequoia boys varsity competed on Saturday, October 16, in one of the fastest fields assembled. Featuring a new course record at Toro Regional Park in Salinas, junior Manny Avila led the way for the Sequoia XC squad with his own personal record of 17:36 for the three mile course. Avila moved up in the field and ran a very steady race with senior Danny Raggio closely behind. Raggio finished under 18 minutes with a time of 17:58, with sophomore sensation Warren Van Velkinburgh finishing third for the team. For Van Velkinburgh this season has been a great surprise, coming from a track campaign in which he ran 5:38 for the mile and competed admirably in every distance from 800 meters on up. Sophomore Carlos Zepeda, and junior Chris McCreddin finished the scoring for the Sequoia squad which featured a personal best from each of its five athletes in the race. The complete squad is set to compete at Crystal Springs next on Thursday October 21, races starting at 3:15pm.

Six under 19:00, Bouchard-Hall runs 20-Flat 21 Athletes Run Season-Bests at the Second Center Meet October 21, 2010

1984. Nearly 30 years is how far you have to go back to find the last time in Sequoia history that five varsity members scored in a time under 19 minutes for each runner. On Thursday, October 21, 2010, six of Sequoias top male athletes recorded a time less than 19 minutes for the challenging 2.95 mile Crystal Springs Cross Country Course. Junior Manny Avila, in only his eighth time running at Crystal Springs recorded the 24th fastest time in school history at the course, with his time of 16:53. Avila finished 19th overall in the race which featured a highly competitive field. Only 10 other individuals in Sequoias history have run faster. Hot on his heels was senior Danny Raggio, who ran a personal best of 17:17 (a pace of 5:52 per mile!). Both Raggio and Avila ran the first mile in 5:15. Not far behind was junior Phil Barron, who ran 18:28, his fastest time of the year at the course. Continuing his pattern of improvement was

sophomore Warren Van Velkinburgh, who finished fourth for the team in 18:46. Juniors Chris McCreddin and Jesse Boyle completed the scoring for the squad, with McCreddin running a season best of 18:52, and Boyle running a season best of 20:18. Both athletes out-kicked their competition with less than 100 meters to go. The team placed 9th overall, ahead of Division II powerhouse Mountain View, and Division I force Menlo-Atherton.

For the girls, sophomore Gaia Bouchard-Hall ran a lifetime best 20:00. This time is the 11th fastest time run by a girl in school history, and makes Bouchard-Hall the fourth fastest female runner in Sequoia history to compete at Crystal Springs. This time was good enough for 8th overall in the varsity girls race. She ran her first mile in a blazing 6:22. Second on the team was freshman Zoe Kriegler-Wenk, who amidst tumultuous circumstances to the beginning of the race, ran seconds off her personal best to finish in 22:14. Kriegler-Wenk fell down at the start of the race and was not issued a re-call by the officials, this start delayed her performance by about 10 seconds despite protest by other girls around the fall. Third on the team was ladies captain Sherry Sanders, who ran the 46th fastest time in school history with her 23:07 performance. Next on the team was sophomore Alex Bliss in a time of 23:45, and junior Laetitia Chatelain in 23:48. Sophomore Alyssa Bliss finished for the scoring members with a personal best of 24:45. The girls finished 10th as a team out of 17 schools.

For the freshman boys race, freshman Ty Dewes ran a lifetime-best 18:56. This is the fastest time by a freshman in over 20 years, and was good enough for 12th place in the race. Classmate Chris Hunter ran a personal best of 20:10, good enough for second on the team. Alex Laziach finished close behind in 20:32, another personal best, with teammates Jaquel Campbel and Shahil Sharma rounding out the squad. Sequoia finished 6th overall as a team.

Other competitors on the day included junior Nicholas Blanck, sophomores Matt Maldonado, Jacob Toms and female Kim Preston. All improved their times on the day. 21 out of 24 athletes who competed on Thursday ran season-bests, 87% of the total team who competed on the day.

The team will run in their final non-championship race next week when they tackle the third center

meet. Races start at 3:15pm on Thursday the 28th at Crystal Springs.

PRs Continue at Final Center Meet Kevin Hill and Zoe Kriegler-Wenk Make Final Varsity Push October 28, 2010

In the seasons final non-championship race, individuals continued to push themselves in preparation for a final barrage on CCS. Varsity scorers Kevin Hill, whose previous season best was 18:36, and Zoe Kriegler-Wenk, who as a freshman has run 22:03, both ran personal-bests at the third and final Center Meet. The varsity teams look strong in what is set to be an epic showdown for the final spots for sectional qualifying for both the boys and the girls.

For the freshman boys race, freshman Ty Dewes ran a team-leading 20:07. Next was classmate Chris Hunter in 20:26, followed by Alex Laziach in 21:31 and Cole Dunbar in 22:24. Shahil Sharma rounded out the scoring. Sequoia finished 6th overall as a team for the second straight week.

For the girls, sophomore Gaia Bouchard-Hall continued to exceed expectations when she finished 11th overall in 20:21. This time is the 13th fastest time run by a girl in school history. Second on the team was freshman Zoe Kriegler-Wenk, who ran a personal best of 21:44, the first time she has broken into the 21-minute range this season and good enough for 31st overall in the varsity race. This is the 25th fastest time run by a female Sequoia athlete in school history. Third on the team was ladies captain Sherry Sanders, who ran 23:19, twelve seconds off her personal best. Next on the team was junior sensation Laetitia Chatelain in 23:26, who finished only 7 seconds after Sanders. Freshman Theda Knauth, sophomores Frances Mylod-Vargos and Alyssa Bliss all rounded out the scoring for the team. The team finished in 8th place out of 14 schools. Senior Natalia Murillo and sophomore Kim Preston also competed. For the sophomore boys, Carlos Zepeda resumed his leading role as the teams top finisher. Zepeda ran 19:40 and finished 11th overall. Classmates Alex Valencia and Aaron Jacobson soon followed in times

of 20:54 and 21:08 respectively. Julian OHara, Jacob Toms and Matt Maldonado also ran for the team, which finished 6th overall. For the varsity boys, junior Manny Avila once again led the way, this time with the 38th fastest time in school history with his 17:11 performance. Senior standout Danny Raggio ran a very steady 17:21, good for 44th on the all time Sequoia list. Junior Philip Barron was third in 18:30, while junior Kevin Hill ran a season-best in 18:42. Warren Van Velkinburgh followed in 19:13, while junior first-time participant Joel Avitia ran 19:44 for the 2.95 course in his debut. Junior Chris McCreddin rounded out the team which finished 7th out of 14 schools.

In the junior varsity race, junior Jesse Boyle led the way followed by classmate Danny Gallegos. Junior Nicholas Blanck completed the team. This next race marks the PAL League Championships. It will be run at Crystal Springs, with the fresh-soph boys race kicking things off at 1:00pm. Both teams will look to qualify for CCS, as they are both within reach of making it to sectionals. For the boys it will be the best opportunity since 1999 that they will make it, and for the girls, it could potentially be the first time ever in team history.

Sequoia Qualifies Teams to CCS! Varsity Teams Make History When Each Qualifies For Sectionals November 4, 2010

In what can only be described as exhilarating and overwhelming circumstances Thursday, the

Sequoia High School boys and girls varsity teams made history when each qualified for the Central Coast Sectional Meet. For the boys varsity team, this is the first time since 1999 that they have qualified as a complete team, for the girls varsity team, this is the first time in school history that they have made sectionals. In previous years, Sequoia has been lucky to send individuals to CCS. Yet at the 2010 Peninsula Athletic League Finals, it took a complete team effort to overcome unenviable conditions when one team after another throughout the league wrestled with unseasonably hot, dry, dusty and humid weather. For the boys varsity team this is their strongest team, top to bottom since 1984. For the girls this represents one of the strongest girls distance running teams ever assembled in the history of the high school.

Aside from a momentous varsity effort, the boys fresh-soph team also competed admirably, finishing 8th as a team out of 17 schools. Freshman Ty Dewes led the way, followed by sophomore Carlos Zepeda and classmate Chris Hunter. One of the few personal bests of the day was run by sophomore Aaron Jacobson when he finished 4th for the team in 20:27. Sophomore Alex Valencia, freshman Alex Lazich and sophomore Julian OHara rounded out the scoring for the team. The team averaged a time of 20:08, very respectable for a young squad at Crystal Springs, and beat talented teams from Burlingame, Hillsdale, San Mateo and South San Francisco High Schools.

For the open girls race, sophomore Alyssa Bliss finished first for the team and 16th overall.

Teammates Summer Toms, Kimberly Preston, and Natalia Murillo also competed, in what is senior Murillos final race in high school. The team would have finished in 8th place had they run as a complete unit.

For the boys open race, junior Jesse Boyle led the squad with a near personal best. Junior Danny

Gallegos finished close behind in a well-rounded performance. Freshman Cole Dunbar finished in third, with sophomores Jacob Toms and Matt Maldonado rounding out the scoring for the team. Junior Nicholas Blanck rounded out the squad. The team finished 9th, beating Jefferson and Burlingame High Schools.

The story of the day remained the varsity squads. Finishing first for the boys was once again junior

Manny Avila. Mannys effort was world-class when compared with other tough competition from the league. Finishing 22nd overall, Mannys time of 17:22 ranks as the 48th fastest time in school history. Senior Danny Raggio finished second for the team in an outstanding final performance at Crystal Springs. Junior Philip Barron finished third, while sophomore Warren Van Velkinburgh finished fourth. Junior Kevin Hill rounded out the scoring for the team, while classmates Chris McCreddin and Joel Avitia rounded out the squad. For the boys varsity team, finishing 9th out of 17 schools qualifies them for the sectional meet, 17 points behind the nearest finisher in Burlingame, and 17 points ahead of their nearest competitor in Westmoor. This is the first time in 11 years that Sequoia qualified its varsity team for sectionals.

For the girls varsity team, sophomore Gaia Bouchard-Hall finished all-league in an astounding 7th

place overall. This marks the first time she has earned all-league honors and is one of the top finishing performances of her career for a varsity race. Freshman Zoe Kriegler-Wenk finished second for the squad, and 32nd overall in the race with the 43rd fastest time for a female Sequoia athlete at Crystal Springs in program history. In a surprising third place for the team was sophomore Alex Bliss, who tied her personal best for the course even in grueling conditions. Sophomore captain Sherry Sanders finished fourth for the team, with freshman Theda Knauth and junior Laetitia Chatelain finishing close behind. Sophomore Frances Mylod-Vargos rounded out the squad. For the girls, this marks the first time in Sequoia High School history that a complete girls team has qualified for the sectional meet.

The two varsity teams will compete next at Toro Park in Salinas on Saturday, November 13 for

CCS Finals. The girls race is scheduled for 12:20pm in the afternoon, and the boys 12:55pm. Sequoia will be competing in Division II.

Sequoia Saves Best for Last in Historical CCS 12 out of 14 Athletes Run Lifetime Best, Sequoia Finishes 11th and 12th in Division II November 13, 2010 Under near-perfect conditions, the Sequoia varsity teams competed Saturday at the Central Coast Section qualifying meet for state in Division II. The boys team finished 11th overall, with six of its seven runners finishing in new personal-bests for the Toro Park course. Junior Manny Avila once again led the way for the team in a staggering 5:48 pace per mile. The girls team fared equally better, finishing in 12th place. Six of their seven varsity runners also ran personal-bests, with many athletes taking minutes off of their times. With 24 total schools in Division II for both boys and girls, these performances are beyond historical with near top 10 finishes these teams have proven they are among some of the elite in the peninsula. The girls team ran first on Saturday, with sophomore Gaia Bouchard-Hall making an early push for the lead, starting near the front of the pack in sixth place. Her pace of 6:54 for the race allowed her to improve her time nearly a minute faster than earlier in the year. Freshman Zoe Kriegler-Wenk scored second for the team, running her fastest time at Toro Park this season. She finished 56th out of all varsity runners overall, in only her first year competing. In third and fourth for Sequoia with identical times were sophomores Alex Bliss and Sherry Sanders. Their times of 23:03 were minutes faster than the last time they competed at Toro, and for each were the fastest they ran in any race all season. Working together for a majority of the race allowed them to find success early on. In a surprising fifth place finish was sophomore Frances Mylod-Vargos, who ran her fastest race of the year, breaking under 8 minute-mile average pace for the first time all season. Finishing in sixth and seventh for the team were runners Laetitia Chatelain and Theda Knauth, who finished only one spot apart. The girls finished 12th as a team, beating Overfelt and Sobrato in Division II. The boys also saved their best for last. In addition to junior Manny Avila, who ran in 17:29 finishing 30th overall, senior Danny Raggio finished in 18:08, closing out his high school career only 10 seconds away from a personal best at Toro Park. Behind Raggio was Kevin Hill, who had nearly his best performance all season in 18:39, with junior Phil Barron and sophomore Warren Van Velkinburgh rounding out the scoring while running together nearly the entire race. Juniors Chris McCreddin and Jesse Boyle also ran personal-bests, with Boyle out-kicking the final Woodside competitor in a terrific finish. The boys team, which finished in 11th place, beating Pioneer High School, this is their best team finish at sectionals in more than 30 years.

http://www.mercurynews.com/fdcp?1291923911327

San Mateo County girls cross-country team By San Mateo County Times Posted: 12/07/2010 07:10:59 PM PST Updated: 12/07/2010 07:10:59 PM PST

Runner of the Year

Jessie Peterson (Carlmont)

First team

Lauren Crowshaw (Aragon)

Kat Gregory (Priory)

Sarah Schreck (Carlmont)

Maddy Price (Menlo School)

Mei-Lin Okino (Carlmont)

Meghan Holland (Sacred Heart Prep)

Elsa Valenzuela (Crystal Springs Uplands)

Second team

Chandra Anderson (Half Moon Bay)

Lindsey Hendershott (Carlmont)

Kylie Freeburg (Half Moon Bay)

Nikki Stokman (Aragon)

Corin Soleberg (Carlmont)

Julia Vitale (Menlo-Atherton)

Maggie Colgan (Hillsdale)

Honorable Mention

Gaia Bouchard-Hall (Sequoia); Natalie

Strohm (Half Moon Bay); Nicole Novales

(Westmoor); Alejandra Marin (Half Moon

Bay); Katherine Chinn (Aragon); Courtney

Schrier (Sacred Heart Prep); Alani Douglas

(Crystal Springs Uplands); Maddie Taylor

(Menlo School); Addy Eveslage (Aragon);

Elly Jones (Sacred Heart Prep)

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