NCS Championships
Hayward High School
Hayward CA
Saturday, November 19, 2011

RESULTS AT BOTTOM OF PAGE

Joyce Upsets Favorite to Spark All-Time Team Performance at Hayward; McMillan Runner up to Verdon's Historic 16:56

The boys' Division III battle between the section's top two teams, Piner and Campolindo, lived up to it's heavyweight billing. The field also featured the fastest two individual finishers at the North Coast Championships on Hayward High School's 3.0 mile course.

In fact, five of the top ten and eight of the top fifteen times came from the day's final race.

Leading the way was Thomas Joyce (12), who stalked defending champ and pre race favorite, Piner's Luis Luna, through most of the course before driving ahead with 800m left. Joyce never looked back, extending his advantage to five seconds before crossing the line to claim the individual crown and the section's top time in any division.

The stunning individual win was just one part in a historic team performance, as the Cougars' Vinson Compestine (12) and Keith Geiger (12) surged through the middle mile before holding on to 7th and 8th place, respectively.

Adam Hathaway (13) caught and then passed Piner's #3 runner in the final stretch while Leland Wong (12) stayed a step ahead of their 5th man to seal the victory. Campolindo's scoring five totaled 63 points to Piner's 82, with league rival Miramonte taking third at 105.

The win is the boys' first since the squad set the NCS team-time record at 77:55 in 2008. Saturday's effort pushed that mark to 77:53, making the boys of 2011 the section's all-time best.

Earlier in the day, Carrie Verdon (12) looked every bit as impressive as her male counterpart, though left out the drama. The defending champion separated from the lead pack after the first 800m and continued to build a gap for the rest of the race.

The senior star, currently ranked 5th in the nation, hit the mile mark in 5:42 and passed the two-mile point in 11:20 before breezing through the finish in 16:56. With the mark, Verdon claimed the 2nd fastest time ever run on the course, and became only the third athlete in history to crack the 17 minute barrier.

The rest of her team looked ever part the favorites, as Megan McMillan (13) separated from Acalanes' Annie Marggraff on the final hill to finish 2nd while Mary Orders (15) and Rachel Johnson (15) also earned podium spots in 5th and 6th place.

Brighie Leach (15) clocked 18:49 to finish 12th while Brooke Martini (12) finished ahead of all but Acalanes' fifth runner to place 28th.

The girls' squad, with all five scorers under 18:50, demolished the meet's team-time record of 91:47, held by Carondelet's 2006 state champs, by 78 seconds! The Cougars of 2011 are now the section's fastest team ever.


Campolindo's Carrie Verdon breaks her own NCS cross country meet record at Hayward

By Phil Jensen
Oakland Tribune

By the 1-mile mark of the North Coast Section Division III girls championship race Saturday, it was evident that the biggest opponent of Campolindo High's Carrie Verdon was the clock.

She pulverized that opponent.

Verdon shattered her NCS Division III girls championship course record and produced the second-fastest girls time ever on the storied 3.0-mile Hayward High course with a time of 16 minutes, 57 seconds. Only Ukiah's Amber Trotter's legendary 16:15 performance in the 2001 NCS Division I race ranks better.

"It definitely builds my confidence, knowing that I ran slower than this last year and still ran a good time (at the state championships)," Verdon said.

Verdon, the defending California Interscholastic Federation Division III girls champion, crossed the 1-mile mark in 5:32, already 15 seconds ahead of second place. She widened that gap to 41 seconds by the 2-mile mark, which she crossed in 11:20.

Verdon's performance highlighted a fine showing by East Bay schools Saturday, as five other local individuals and seven East Bay teams won section titles. Campolindo's Thomas Joyce defeated prerace favorite Luis Luna of Piner-Santa Rosa to win the Division III boys race with the fastest time of the day (14:58). Luna and Joyce passed through two miles leading in 10:04, but Joyce moved into the lead for good on a flat portion of the last mile and won by five seconds.

San Ramon Valley swept the individual titles in Division II. Parker Deuel defended his Division II boys crown with a dominating performance. He crossed the 1-mile mark in 4:52 with an eight-second lead and increased it to 12 seconds by the second mile, which he crossed in 10:02. He won by 15 seconds with a time of 15:05.

Wolves freshman Christine Bayliss also led at the 1-mile mark of the Division II girls race and held a 25-second lead by the 2-mile mark. Bayliss won by 33 seconds with a time of 17:47.

Amador Valley's Jena Pianin held off Berkeley's Diribe Abdo to win the Division I girls race. The two were together in front at both the 1- and 2-mile marks, but Pianin made a surge on the final hill to win in 17:41. Abdo was second in 17:49.

St. Joseph Notre Dame sophomore Gabe Arias-Sheridan won the Division V boys race in an NCS Division V boys course record of 15:16. He led after one mile and held a five-second advantage when he crossed the 2-mile mark in 10:01.

Verdon, Joyce, Deuel and Arias-Sheridan all led their squads to team titles. Other victorious East Bay teams were De La Salle (Division I boys), Granada (Division I girls) and St. Mary's (Division IV boys).

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

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

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

 

BOYS' VARSITY
Grd TOTAL PR CR Plc.
THOMAS JOYCE 12 1458 1
VINSON COMPESTINE 12 1529 7
KEITH GEIGER 12 1529 8
ADAM HATHAWAY 11 1550 18
LELAND WONG 12 1607 29
KEVIN FONG 11 1616 36
DANIEL JOHNSON 12 1648 54

Campolindo 63, Piner 82, Miramonte 105, Redwood 133, O'Dowd 136, Las Lomas 183, Acalanes 213, Tamalpais 220, Sonoma Valley 228, Albany 278, Northgate 280, Alhambra 333, Petaluma 342, Eureka 360, Ygnacio Valley 436, Dublin 459, Novato 496, Analy 534, Concord 580, Tennyson 595, Rancho Cotate 597, Encinal 600, JFK 626


Boys' 1st team All-NCS
Thomas Joyce

Boys' 2nd team All-NCS
Vinson Compestine
Keith Geiger

 

 

GIRLS' VARSITY
Grd TOTAL PR CR Plc.
CARRIE VERDON 12 1657 1
MEGAN MCMILLAN 11 1802 2
MARY ORDERS 9 1820 5
RACHEL JOHNSON 9 1821 6
BRIGHIE LEACH 9 1849 12
BROOKE MARTINI 12 1928 28
JULIET FARNAN 12 2013 51

Campolindo 26, Acalanes 51, Las Lomas 112, Redwood 152, O'Dowd 156, Piner 199, Tamalpais 233, Petaluma 239, Miramonte 251, Northgate 270, Novato 278, Alhambra 281, Albany 312, Analy 334, Dublin 385, Rancho Cotate 405


Girls' 1st team All-NCS
Carrie Verdon

Girls' 2nd team All-NCS
Megan McMillan

Girls' 3rd team All-NCS
Mary Orders
Rachel Johnson

HOME