NCS Championships
Hayward High School
Hayward CA
Saturday, November 17, 2012

RESULTS AT BOTTOM OF PAGE 

Goltra Handles Sloppy Course, Posts Top Time at Section Championships; Both Squads Survive, Advance to State Meet

Aidan Goltra (14), who ended his 2011 season out of contention for a state meet berth as the 20th finisher at the North Coast Section meet, turned the tide in 2012, running away with the Division III individual victory at Saturday's championships. His time of 15:30 was 15 seconds faster than the next best finisher across all divisions.

Also earning All-Section honors, Brighie Leach (15) continued her own comeback story by finishing runner-up in the girls' DIII race on the muddy Hayward High School 3.0 mile course.

Conditions were as daunting as any in the history of the event. Steady rain leading up to the race made for soft, slippery and in many places, dangerous terrain. Every step saw runners sliding, falling, and desperately struggling to regain footing. Sections of the blacktop were entirely under water, and the track was a moat.

While the frontrunners seemed to navigate the course adversity well, it was a tough day for the Cougar supporting casts. A slow start put Rachel Johnson (15) in a tough spot, having to battle from behind. That appeared to be the case for most of the girls' squad, who finished wet, splattered with dirt, and clinging to the fourth and final state meet berth.

The middle of the boys' pack also struggled. However, scrappy performances from Will Moran (14), who took over the #3 position for the squad, and Ben Weinberg (14), who fought his way to 38th place to complete the scoring, helped extend the team's season for another week.

TIM FONG'S HUGE GALLERY OF NCS CHAMPIONSHIP PHOTOS IS HERE!

ENJOY COMPLETE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE MEET ON XCSTATS.COM HERE!

Pianin, Marggraff among winners at NCS cross country championships

By Phil Jensen
pjensen@bayareanewsgroup.com

HAYWARD -- As Amador Valley High's Jena Pianin crossed the finish line Saturday in the North Coast Section Division I girls race, a smile crossed her face.

During a driving rainstorm, Pianin had adamantly refused to give up the lead. She moved into first in the first 200 yards of the 3.0 mile race at Hayward High, and fought off challenges by Berkeley's Diribe Abdo and San Ramon Valley's Christine Bayliss to defend her title with an excellent time of 17 minutes, 56 seconds.

"My strategy was to win at all cost," said Pianin, who did not get separation from Abdo until the final mile. "I wanted to find hard ground and use it."
Bayliss was second (17:59) and Abdo was third (18:01).

Acalanes' Annie Marggraff led her team to a historic victory. The Dons won their first NCS girls cross country team title since 1985.
Marggraff, a senior, led the lead pack at the one-mile mark and increased her advantage to seven seconds by the two-mile point. She ended up winning by two seconds with a time of 18:25.

"I'm overwhelmed. I worked so hard this season to get to this point," said an emotional Marggraff after the race. "I wanted to run my own race and not follow other people.

"I did it for Tad (Beach) and Manny (Myers)," said Marggraff, referring to the Acalanes co-coaches who are retiring from cross country coaching after this season.

Kelly Collins added a third-place finish (18:35) for Acalanes, which had four in the top 12 to finish with a score of 58.

The fastest time of the day was turned in by Campolindo's Aidan Goltra, who won the Division III boys race in 15:30. Goltra was second at the one-mile mark, but by the two-mile point, he was in first, one step ahead of Redwood's Fred Huxham.

Goltra made a move on a flat portion of the final mile to win by 20 seconds. Huxham was second (15:50). "I'm shocked how well it went," said Goltra, a junior. "I didn't expect the first two miles to feel so easy."

Berkeley's Tariku Abdo, Diribe's brother, won the Division I boys race in an upset. Tariku, who finished sixth in the West Alameda County Conference championship race on Nov. 3, made a major move in the second mile and led by nine seconds at the two-mile mark. He ended up winning by 12 seconds with a time of 15:48.

"That is all personal guts. That's just willpower," said Berkeley coach Brad Johnson about Tariku Abdo after his race.

Besides Acalanes, other East Bay schools which won team titles included San Ramon Valley (Division I boys), Granada (Division I girls), Miramonte (Division III boys) and St. Joseph Notre Dame (Division V boys).

San Ramon Valley's boys team, paced by a fourth-place finish by Carl Wilke (16:02) had a team score of 40 points. It placed all five of its scoring runners in the top 12 of the Division I race.

Granada's girls team, led by a fourth-place finish from Megan McCandless (18:12), had a score of 55. It had four scorers in the top 14 of the Division I girls race
Miramonte's boys squad, paced by Tyler Hanson's third-place finish (16:01), had three runners in the top nine and four in the top 14 of the Division III race. It had a score of 58.

St. Joseph Notre Dame's boys team, led by Louis Rodrigues' runner-up finish (15:55), had three in the top six and four in the top 13 to finish with a score of 44 in the Division V boys race.

BOYS' VARSITY
Grd TOTAL PR CR Plc.
AIDAN GOLTRA 11 1530 1
ADAM HATHAWAY 12 1641 15
WILL MORAN 11 1703 27
WALTER BRENNAN 11 1707 30
BEN WEINBERG 11 1720 38
MICHAEL PETERSON 10 1758 53
CAMERON SUN 12 1806 58

Miramonte 58, Acalanes 82, O'Dowd 88, Campolindo 111, Redwood 115, Petaluma 158, Northgate 158, Las Lomas 175, Ygnacio Valley 250, Sonoma Valley 310, Alhambra 321, Eureka 341, Novato 395, Analy 403, Concord 453, Encinal 465, Rancho Cotate 476, Tamalpais 479, Albany 499, El Cerrito 574

Boys' 1st team All-NCS
Aidan Goltra

GIRLS' VARSITY
Grd TOTAL PR CR Plc.
BRIGHIE LEACH 10 1827 2
RACHEL JOHNSON 10 1936 11
HALEY SHIPWAY 11 1951 18
HANA SUN 9 2004 24
MARY ORDERS 10 2036 40
ELLEN HANN 11 2054 48
SARAH ORDERS 12 2105 52

Acalanes 58, Redwood 84, Las Lomas 91, Campolindo 95, O'Dowd 110, Miramonte 148, Tamalpais 182, Novato 259, Northgate 274, Petaluma 280, Analy 280, Albany 285, Sonoma Valley 295, Alhambra 392, Rancho Cotate 451

Girls' 2nd team All-NCS
Brighie Leach