CIF CHAMPIONSHIPS

CIF State Championships
Woodward Park
Fresno CA
Saturday, November 27, 2010

RESULTS AT BOTTOM OF PAGE

Carrie Verdon RunnerSpace Post-Race Interview HERE!

SEE COMPLETE STATE MEET RESULTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS ON XCSTATS.COM!

STATE CHAMPIONS!
Girls Wreck Division Three All-Time CIF Record; Boys Top NCS Squads at State

It was difficult not to get swept up, as the rest of the Cougar harriers did, by the winged feet of Carrie Verdon (12) and Grace Orders (11) at Saturday's California cross country finale on the historic Woodward Park course. The fleet footed pair sailed through the State Championship 5k in record time, finishing first and third, respectively.

Individually, each athlete's time is remarkable, with Orders moving to 62nd on the state's all-time list, while Verdon's 17:15 victory makes her the 10th fastest Californian ever. Take those results together however, and you have the greatest teammate tandem in the Golden State's history.

No other school has ever enjoyed the level of performance put together by this amazing pair, and it was a huge factor in Campolindo's resounding victory over the rest of the state's division III schools, as well their dismantling of the state meet all-time team time record.

Yet every piece was needed for this puzzle. Simply winning a state title takes a considerable amount of talent, combined with equal measures of commitment, timing, and luck. To do it in the dominating fashion the Cougar's accomplished in 2010 takes a kind of magic. It's a magic so powerful, it takes seven courageous runners to wield; But bend it to their will they did.

Rachel Meadows (12) fought her way to a 17th place, 18:32 finish, moving her to fifth all-time in school history. Also scoring were Sara Mostatabi (11) and Juliet Farnan (12), each nailing down their greatest career performances, while sixth and seventh position runners Sara Orders (13) and Haley Shipway (14) outpaced every other team's number five scorer. It was a magical race, in which all seven teammates extended themselves beyond anything they risked to achieve before.

In all, the girls earned the second state crown for Campolindo cross country, claimed the fastest Division III time and fastest North Coast Section time since the state meet began in 1987 and topped all Northern California programs. Verdon's individual win is also a second, equaling Sarah Riley's title performance in 1990; however, Verdon's 17:15 finish time is now the DIII record!

For the Cougar boys, the day proved to be a mixed bag of emotions, with excitement for Thomas Joyce's (12) inspired effort to fight through a poor start and gain the lead pack before finishing in a school-record time of 15:31. His gutsy race earned him 5th place and a step on the individual podium.

Dylan Laucuher (11) finished in 34th place, besting his 2009 time by four seconds. Meanwhile, Vinson Compestine (12), in his state meet debut, rolled to a fine 16:07 clocking, moving him onto the top 25 school record list.

As a team, Campolindo managed to beat section rival Petaluma, improving on their 7th place performance of 2009 to finish 4th. In the merge of all divisions, the Cougars topped all NCS teams. Yet, there was an air of disappointment, having missed a team podium spot by one place.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SPENCER ALLEN & MARGARET GELLAGHER, SPORTSIMAGEWIRE.COM

SPENCER ALLEN & MARGARET GALLAGHER PHOTOS FOR ALL DIVISIONS AT SPORTSIMAGEWIRE.COM!

Tears of joy for Campolindo girls after running to state title

By Phil Jensen
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 11/27/2010 09:03:16 PM PST
Updated: 11/27/2010 10:55:27 PM PST

FRESNO -- A few steps after crossing the finish line Saturday at the California Interscholastic Federation state cross country championships, a huge smile spread across the face of Campolindo High's Carrie Verdon. Minutes later, she sat on the ground at Woodward Park, crying with her head in her hands. Such are the emotions of a state cross country champion.

Verdon won the Division III girls state championship race with a time of 17 minutes, 15 seconds for the 3.1 mile course. But she wasn't the only Campolindo runner shedding tears of joy. The Cougars placed three in the top 20, including a third-place finish for Grace Orders (17:44), and all five scorers finished in the top 45 as Campolindo won the Division III team title by an overwhelming margin. The Cougars finished with a score of 67, nearly half of the score of second-place Palos Verdes-Palos Verdes Estates (126). "We are so excited that we won as a team," Verdon said. "(In the last mile) I knew I had to stay strong and keep my feet moving fast."

Rachel Meadows (17th, 18:32), Sara Mostatabi (27th, 18:52) and Juliet Farnan (43rd, 19:09) finished up the scoring for the Cougars.
Outside the finish chute, Campolindo coach Chuck Woolridge gathered his girls team into a huddle, where there were more tears of joy.
"I told them all the work they put in and all the long training days since July were worth it, and they should savor the moment," he said.

Woolridge should also savor the moment. It is believed that he is the first cross country coach in state history to win a state team championship at two schools, according to Rich Gonzalez of ESPN Rise/DyeStatCal. Woolridge coached College Park to the Division II girls state crown in 2003. "I didn't realize that. There have been so many great coaches. That's interesting," said Woolridge later on Saturday. "I've been very lucky to have the opportunity to coach at two great schools." Verdon's gutsy race included a tremendous final mile. She led at the one-mile mark (5:27) and two-mile point (11:10), but Palos Verdes' Rebecca Mehra was right on her heels.

But Verdon ended up defeating the second-place Mehra by 21 seconds. "I just couldn't believe it," said Verdon about her thoughts as she crossed the finish line. "I beat Rebecca Mehra, the state champion last year." Castro Valley's Kelsey Santisteban set some local history of her own in the Division I girls race. She became the first East Bay girl since 1989 to place in the top five in the Division I state championship race. Santisteban was fifth Saturday with a time of 17:30. Livermore's Becky Spies was second in 1989. "I'm, like, shocked and excited," Santisteban said. "I was just going to go out with the top runners and try to stay with them as long as I could."
Santisteban was eighth at the mile mark (5:22) and fourth at two miles.

Campolindo's Thomas Joyce and St. Joseph Notre Dame's Nick Ratto both placed fifth in their respective divisions and were the top East Bay boys placers. Joyce was sixth at the two-mile mark of the Division III boys and moved up one spot in the final 1.1 miles to finish with a time of 15:31. Ratto was side-by-side with freshman teammate Gabe Arias-Sheridan in the lead at the one-mile mark of the Division V boys race (5:03). Both runners were outside the top 10 at the two-mile mark but rallied to place fifth (16:09) and sixth (16:11) respectively.

College Park's Jeff Bickert had the fastest East Bay time. He placed 13th in the rainy Division I boys race with an impressive clocking of 15:16. Bickert passed through the two-mile mark in 9:43 on his way to the top NCS finish of the race. St. Mary's freshman Spencer Moore added a seventh-place finish in the Division IV girls race (18:19).

Besides the Campolindo girls, two other East Bay teams placed in the top four. Led by a 14th-place finish by Adrienne Strait (19:17), College Prep's girls were second in their Division V race. Campolindo's boys were fourth (192 points) in their race.

BOYS' VARSITY
Grd TOTAL PR CR Plc.
THOMAS JOYCE 11 1531 5
DYLAN LAUCHER 12 1601 34
VINSON COMPESTINE 11 1607 43
GREG GARCIA 12 1617 63
LELAND WONG 11 1634 92
BRADLEY MILLER 12 1636 97
KEITH GEIGER 11 1705 136

St. John Bosco 82, Palos Verdes 92, Brea Olinda 130, Campolindo 192, Cathedral Catholic 196, Petaluma 202, Golden Valley 205, Granite Hills 215, West Torrance 240, Willow Glen 268, Las Lomas 286, Corona Del Mar 294, Valley Center 296, McFarland 320, Piner 435, Enterprise 437, Shafter 470, El Capitan 478, St. Ignatius 490, Cosumnes Oaks 572, El Dorado 587, Sacred Heart 597, Sonora 602, Skyliine 631

GIRLS' VARSITY
Grd TOTAL PR CR Plc.
CARRIE VERDON 11 1715 1
GRACE ORDERS 12 1744 3
RACHEL MEADOWS 11 1832 17
SARA MOSTATABI 12 1852 27
JULIET FARNAN 11 1909 43
SARAH ORDERS 10 1920 55
HALEY SHIPWAY 9 1928 68

Campolindo 67, Palos Verdes 126, Woodbridge 154, Cathedral Catholic 169, Corona Del Mar 187, San Luis Obispo 207, Acalanes 232, West Torrance 246, Granit Hills 248, Northwood 260, Claremont 275, Redwood 306, Vista Del Lago 310, St. Ignacius 330, Aptos 354, University City 364, Sacred Heart 393, Las Lomas 400, Placer 472, Christian Brothers 555, Shafter 577, Ridgeview 596, Shasta 645, Skyline 782

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